Meet me at midnight
by Belvaforelove
Summary: Four people. Two apartments. One bar. Four big dreams that are about to be crushed. Can they handle it? Together they can...sort of. Belvafore AU fic. If you love these characters, you will love this one. Bamon/Steroline. Rating: T/M
1. Welcome to New York

"Damon." Someone was calling out his name, probably.

"Damon." This time with a little more punch, he still chose to ignore it. God, his head was pounding. Was he imagining it? He wanted to get up and answer, but he would collapse. What the hell was wrong with his eye, it hurt like hell just trying to open it.

"Damon! This is the last time!" A very irritated voice could be heard, this time followed by a pillow thrown at his headache ridden head. He groaned and used the pillow to his advantage, pulling it over his head to drown the noise out.

"You did it again, didn't you-" she continued, nervously pacing around the room, well that's what he imagined her doing, he was far too hungover to actually check, her little feet were pounding loudly against the wooden floor, it was a pretty good guess "-you got fucked up again. I knew it, I just knew it, Damon. And what the hell is up with your black eye? We obviously have to go through this every time...and you know I tell myself to leave and I tell myself I should dump you but I stay. Why? Why do I stay Damon? Can you name a reason? Because I can't...I can't."

Finally, he peeped from behind his pillow, barely squinting at her, she looked so tiny standing there in his very oversized shirt "It must be love." He said with a lazy smirk, but it only made her even more mad. She marched over and took his pillow, throwing it on the floor.

"It must be me being an idiot, seriously-" she kept talking but Damon couldn't hear a word she said, he'd become a real master at drowning out noises he didn't want to hear, Elena's was on top of that list. His sweet, beloved Elena, how he missed their times of fooling around and not nagging each other, well, her not nagging him. He can't quite pinpoint the moment it all went downhill, maybe it was the day she decided they'd live together… maybe it was the day he met her. He wasn't quite sure, he also wasn't sure what was keeping him with her...obviously she felt the same. He pushed himself up and cracked his knuckles. He brought his hands up to his head, rubbing his eyes, trying to force himself awake. She was still there, standing before him, talking and talking and talking.

"-and Klaus, don't even get me started."

"Why don't you leave now?" He said quietly, but loud enough for her to stop her words and stare at him in shock. Her eyes widened at him, she looked at him with pure disgust.

"Excuse me?" She took a step forward "You're telling me to leave?" "Yes, I'm telling _you_ to leave, Elena-"

"You-" she raised her voice and started all over again. Talking and yelling and screaming. Damon took his phone from the nightstand and walked right pass her to the bathroom. He locked the door behind him and took a long deep breath. His phone buzzed in his hand, prompting him to look at it. Klaus, his brother, Kol, Enzo. All the people who usually got him in trouble. Well, that wasn't entirely true, he was the one getting all of them in trouble most of the time. Last night was one of those he couldn't remember anything about, he was missing time. He was sure of one thing, tho. Someone punched the fuck out of his face, that blackeye was raging. He aggressively stuck a toothbrush in his mouth and texted with his free hand.

_'What happened last night?! Fill me in. Elena's pissed.'_ He typed and pressed send. It was to Klaus, he wasn't much of a drinker and more of an observer, so he must have remembered everything.

_'How much do you remember, my love?'_ He replied after a few minutes in true Klaus fashion.

_'Literally nothing, who tf gave me a blackeye?!'_

He spit out the toothpaste and splashed his face with some ice-cold water, it felt good. The buzzing of his phone brought him back.

_'Closed the deal with Media Records. Got mad drunk. Tried to hook up with a very attractive blonde. Offered her a contract in porn. She punched you with all she had, but you must have noticed that by now. You passed out and we left. You're truly an imbecile.'_

"Fuck." He muttered under his breath and shut his eyes tight, only regretting it when he remembered one of them was the size of a tennis ball. Not only did he get shitfaced, but he also tried to hook up with someone, again. He could've only hoped Elena had no clue about it, this time around. There were far too many times some bimbo took a chance and snapped a selfie with him on one of his night club binges, posting it on Instagram. Elena never appreciated those, but he couldn't care anymore, he didn't care if they were together or broke up. He just wasn't going to do it himself, breaking up took effort and he had no intention of making it. He had no idea when he became that way, purely cruel. Stefan tried to convince him he was born that way, they've had that drunken talk multiple times. That was far from the truth. There was a time when Damon actually cared about people, when he cared about who he slept with, when he tried his best to get to know them, get to know their feelings. He was open, vulnerable, caring, yet if you spent a minute talking to him in the past year, you would be convinced he was the most disgusting, ruthless human being on earth. The worst part of it all? He liked it. It made his blood rush, his heart beat faster, his smile grow wider. Damon Salvatore was a certified ruthless bastard.

As he came to realize, he was also wallet less. He was just about ready to give up looking through his stuff and accept his faith and the fact that Elena was going to end him, when he found a little note with neatly scribbles black ink all over it.

'_This is for being a first-class jackass. If you want your wallet come and find it here:' _The rest was an address uptown, with specific directions on how to find the place. It was signed simply as _Caroline_.

Fuck.

* * *

"He said what?"

"I am not joking, Bonnie…he offered me a contract, he pulled out his phone and his check book, he called someone and put them on the phone with me, it took me a hot minute to realize it was some creepy porn director, asking me to audition for the main part in his upcoming adult movie called _'The Sperminator'_"

Bonnie's been trying her very best not to burst out laughing from the minute Caroline woke up and angrily started pacing around their small apartment, telling her everything that went down on her first big night out in New York city. If she didn't know Caroline and her bad luck better, she'd be convinced the blonde was making it all up.

"Bonnie! That is not funny." She gave her a warning look which only made Bonnie laugh even more.

"The Spermi- oh my god- I can't Care, I'm so sorry…The Sperminator." By this point, Bonnie was literally on the floor, holding her stomach from laughing so hard. "I'm sorry." She said through laughter, as she watched Caroline roll her eyes so hard, she could probably see the insides of her brain if she wanted to.

"Wait, don't leave" Bonnie shot up and caught annoyed Caroline by her hand, dragging her down on the couch with her. Caroline sat down with a sigh, giving Bonnie another warning look.

"I promise, I'll keep it together, just tell me what happened next, please?" Bonnie gave her the most convincing puppy look she could muster, and it worked!

"I-uh…I kind of-"Caroline fidgeted while Bonnie looked at her with anticipation "God. I punched him right in the face." Caroline made a grimace, waiting for Bonnie to go at her with her feminist agenda, scolding her for getting physical with a drunken guy she didn't know. By Bonnie's standards, that was the lowest you could go, if guys couldn't punch girls, then girls couldn't punch guys, the end.

"You actually punched him, in the face?" She was more surprised than mad.

"Yeah. Wait, why are you so surprised…. I can throw a punch" her hands instantly made fists. Bonnie looked at her with adoration and awwwed. "I can be unpredictable!" Caroline stood up with furrowed brows, trying to look fierce "And incredibly reckless!"

Bonnie got up and pat her on the shoulder in a _there-there_ manner.

"I can totally beat people up. Bonnie!" Bonnie was already in the other room, chuckling to herself. It annoyed Caroline so much she decided not to even tell her about the fact that she took the poor bastard's wallet with her and actually gave him their address. It seemed like a good idea when she was drunk.

"I could beat you up, punk." Caroline muttered to herself. "What was that?" Bonnie reappeared from the hall with raised brows.

"Noooothing…. nothing at all."

"Did you call me a punk? What are you, a grandma from the nineties?"

Caroline laughed and laid back on the couch, her hair sprawling across the unpacked bag next to her head. She inhaled deeply. The mess in here was killing her, she couldn't wait to rearrange the entire apartment, she was already making to do lists in her head. She wished she had more free time, her and Bonnie only moved in two days ago, which in no way was enough time for them to properly unpack, especially considering the fact that Caroline had 7 suitcases only for her clothes and shoes. The furniture was all over the place, the only thing that was right was the couch and even that annoyed her because it made the most irritating sound you could imagine every time you sat on it. Bonnie's grandma Marie basically forced them to wrap everything they owned in those tacky plastic furniture wraps to protect their things while moving. Had it gone Caroline's way, they would take nothing with them. They couldn't say no though, no one could ever say no to Bonnie's nanna, she was equally cute and terrifying, Bonnie definitely got that from her. She loved Bonnie and her family with all her heart, but she couldn't help but envy her at times. Bonnie lost her mom when she was a little girl, her grandma and her father had raised her and even though Caroline was the one with both healthy parents and a brother, she felt like she had no one, her family was broken. Bonnie's family was her family, she spent her Christmas dinners at her place, wrapped up in a blanket Marie knitted for them, she spent her summers playing on their yard, her winters making snow angels in front of their house. Bonnie's dad was the one who taught her how to ride a bike, he was also the one who patched up her broken knees from multiple failed attempts. Her parents, Samantha and David Forbes were set to fail the moment they met. It had a lot to do with the fact that her dad was a closeted homosexual, who ran off with his Italian gay lover when Caroline was 9, leaving her and her older brother Kit at mercy of their mother. Her mother was very quick to recover from the drama, she met Henry two months after her father left and she married him after three. She popped out her stepbrother from hell, Henry jr. to secure her future with the wealthy businessman. She couldn't help herself, she was used to doing nothing and spending other people's money, Caroline swore to herself that if she ever became remotely like her mother, she would hang herself with one of Samantha's Valentino bag straps. Henry was an extremely self-absorbed man. He was filthy rich, and she wanted nothing to do with it, nothing to do with his money, or his fake affection, nothing to do with her mother's fake smiles and bribes. All the way through her education, the only thing that kept her going was New York. She used to daydream about coming here, maybe even making it big. Oh, the disappointment on Henry's face when she told him she wasn't going to attend Brown as he planned out and arranged for her, but instead she was going to follow her dreams and move to New York to make something of herself, maybe even audition on Broadway one day. She wasn't stupid, she was very well aware that she was just another stupid kid with a huge dream of making it in New York. She was self-taught and the only reference she had for her "studies" were YouTube tutorials. But that never stopped her, she was determined to at least try.

She will never forget the day Bonnie phoned her out of the blue and said one simple sentence that would forever change her life. _'Take me to New York with you, I want to go.' _Caroline was entirely sure Bonnie was making fun of her, she knew how much Caroline wanted to go and she knew her plans were doomed because despite her parent's wealth she couldn't afford it on her own, which was exactly how she wanted to do it. It only dawned on Caroline that Bonnie was serious, the next day when her best friend barged in to her room with a vision board completed with glitter, a follow up chart of pros and cons of moving to New York and her plans to make a career for herself there. To Caroline, this felt like another daydream, was she so deep in to making stories up in her head that she convinced herself Bonnie would come with her? But it wasn't a daydream, Bonnie was 100% serious…Bonnie never joked with vision boards. The next three years Bonnie worked her ass off to finish community college while Caroline shed blood and tears working two jobs to save up enough money for both of them to get to New York and have a few months' worth of rent. Finally, the day came, and they packed their belongings, Caroline was sure this was the day her life would officially start, and she couldn't be happier Bonnie was the one she was sharing it with. She was her person, her confidant and her biggest cheerleader, it's been that way since preschool. Her mother almost ruined everything by trying to enroll her in to one of those fancy private preschools, the whole thing made 5-year-old Caroline so mad she refused to open her mouth to talk to anyone at her new school, which didn't tickle the teachers at her fancy new school the right way. They kicked her out after a week, claiming they couldn't risk their reputation for one child and Caroline was back to her happy self, in her old school where she belonged with all the other normal kids, kids who didn't have Louis Vuitton lunch bags and ate sushi for snacks. She was forever grateful Bonnie didn't treat her like a freak, even though she always felt like one.

"Aren't you going to be late to your new work?" Bonnie peeked from the kitchen, holding two disgustingly green smoothies in her hands, handing one to Caroline. Bonnie was a health freak, she was convinced if she let go of herself for one day, she would get sick instantly, that or gain a lot of weight. It never made any sense to Caroline, Bonnie was the tiniest person she knew. Caroline's ways of partying and drinking never agreed with her so she would make her these awful detox smoothies to _'kill every sin you committed last night, Caroline'_, and even though Caroline always insisted she should drink a bottle of holy water to even start detoxifying from her past sins, she drank the godawful green liquid anyways.

"No, I start at six since it's my first day, they obviously don't trust me to work the entire shift yet." Caroline murmured and took a whiff of whatever was in that glass. "Are you sure this is meant to help? Because it smells like it's going to kill me."

"Stop being so dramatic Caroline, it's just some green veggies and matcha powder, you've put worse stuff in your mouth and survived" she wiggled an eyebrow.

"Bonnie!" Caroline exclaimed feigning shock.

"I said what I said, now drink the thing."

"So bossy. You're going to drink the other interns' blood tomorrow, they won't stand a chance."

"I should hope so, you really think I'll do good?" she started chewing her lower lip nervously "Most of them probably come from Ivy League schools, I'm sooo not even close to that and-"

Caroline sat up and put her glass on the floor next to her. "And yet they chose you to intern for them. Based on your knowledge and the awesomeness that you bring to the table. You don't need some fancy school to be good at this Bonnie, you've worked harder than any person I've ever met, and I am not going to let anyone, especially not you, sabotage it. If there's someone who has a chance at this, it's you."

Bonnie didn't speak, she just looked at Caroline gratefully and smiled. Her eyes followed the blonde out of the room. The truth was, she never would have made it had it not been for Caroline, sure Bonnie was the one who initiated the whole moving to NY together, but Caroline is the one who thought of it. Caroline was free like that, open minded, it amazed and scared Bonnie at the same time. She never possessed that easiness and courage when it came to anything really. Had it not been for Caroline's continuous encouragement and nagging, Bonnie would have finished high school and stayed at home, helping her father and her grandmother run their small family hardware store. She was a small-town girl with a small-town brain, Mystic Falls was all she ever knew. She felt safe there, she knew every single person who lived there, knew their parents, their grandparents, their pets, where they lived and how they lived. It gave her comfort but being comfortable doesn't get you very far and her dad was struggling with money. He would never admit it to Bonnie, but she knew, she always knew. She also knew Caroline was going to leave that place sooner or later and even though she hated to admit being so attached to someone, Bonnie really couldn't imagine her life without Caroline. That girl was everything, she was the type of girl the other girls hated, and their boyfriends adored, and she didn't even have to try. In so many things she was just flawless and the only person who couldn't see that was Caroline herself. It made her even bigger in Bonnie's eyes, even though she had every opportunity to screw people over and walk all over them, Care always took the high road. She was humble, beautiful, smart and badass. Considering the way her family was, she had no idea how she turned out that good. It was in her blood, Caroline was destined to be this perfect person and somehow Bonnie was destined to be her very best friend. And as it turned out to be, they were destined to end up in one of the biggest cities in the world. A few years ago if someone had told Bonnie she'd be renting an apartment in New York, about to start a very hard to get internship in a day, she would call them clinically insane. The deal was they wouldn't move here until both of them found at least three job options to choose from, Caroline took up what she knew the best – bartending, which didn't take long for her to find. Bonnie's took a while longer, she sent out dozens of applications and not many of them returned her emails, those who did politely turned her down. She was coming to terms that she would end up working in a shop for the rest of her life when an email came from on of the better spots she applied to. It was a marketing firm called _Elite_, the e-mail came straight from their CEO Lorenzo St. John, which made it even more weird. Bonnie was convinced it was another reject letter and almost passed out when she realized she was one of the lucky 5 applicants who got the internship. Her and Caroline started packing the next day. The hardest part was saying goodbye to her nanna, she could barely hold back her tears. She sucked at goodbyes at is was, left alone saying goodbye to people she grew up with, she got so used to seeing their faces every day and for the most part of her life, she was convinced she'd never have to do it because she'd stay at home. However, this was for the best, she knew it and her family knew it but it didn't make it any easier.

Bonnie was brought back from her reminiscing by Caroline. She even combed out her usually wild gold locks and put them in a slightly messy bun on top of her head. She really was serious about this job.

"I'm gonna head out now. I think I'll walk today, to study the streets and all."

Bonnie got up and gave her a tight hug, the one that made your rib cage feel like it's going to break.

"Good luck, break a leg or something"

"I'll try my best not to." Caroline smiled as Bonnie released her from the hug. "I'm really nervous." She admitted shyly.

"I know you are but it's going to be okay." Both of them nodded and Caroline headed out, leaving Bonnie alone with her thoughts and a whole lot of stuff to unpack.

* * *

"I just think that they might be right, you know? Your father tried really hard for you to get there."

"All my father did was try to live out his unfulfilled dreams through me Rebekah. Besides, what are you even talking about? It's literally been two years. I have a job here. Just listen to yourself. What happened to the whole _having each other's back_ _no matter what_ thing? We've had this discussion and I'm not doing it again." Stefan sighed, trying his very best to stay calm and not turn this in to yet another heated argument.

"You came here to make movies and work as a photographer or something, not to bartend. You know what? Fine. Whatever." The girl said exasperated, just by the tone of her voice, it was very far from fine and even more far from over.

"Without me bartending we wouldn't have enough money to live where we do, left alone do all the other things you want. I'm trying Rebekah…I have to get back to work, I'll see you later, okay?"

"Remember this Stefan, I have my boundaries. And I will have to do a lot of guided meditation at the center today to fix this!" She yelled angrily and hung up.

"Love you too." Stefan said sarcastically and threw the phone angrily. "Son of a bitch."

It was hard enough his entire family was just about ready to give him up because he decided to leave law school in order to '_follow his fucking dreams'_ as his father mildly put it. He's had enough, everyone has enough at some point. You push and you chew everything life throws at you, you fight back, and you try your best. But if all the effort isn't even for something you remotely want out of life, you are bound to burn out sooner or later. That is exactly what happened to Stefan. He was the perfect child, amazing at school, great at sports, played piano since he was 6, excelled at just about everything he ever took up. Oppose to his womanizing, daredevil brother, Stefan was a god given gift to his parents. Everyone had high hopes for him, his mother gushed about him at her Sunday brunches and his father had a position for him at his law firm probably ever since Stefan took his first steps and learned to walk. He had Rebekah, a beautiful girl he met on his trip to New York with Damon. Rebekah was the type of girl his parents adored because she was nice, preppy, she cared about what people think and she was ready to do just about anything for people to like her. In his parents' eyes that made her perfect, in Stefan's eyes it made her unbearable at times. He loved her, she loved him, they fought, they made up and stayed together. It made sense to Stefan, to have her around. It was simple with her, she checked all the boxes in his imaginary perfect girl list, the one he came up with when he was a naïve 16-year-old boy, just trying to please the world around him. His only gateway was photography, in those moments when life would get too much, he would grab his camera and go as far as he could to forget everything and everyone. He never showed his snaps to anyone, they wouldn't understand, to his father it wasn't a career option, it was a waste of time. So Stefan hid his passion, he kept it to himself, letting it consume him and fill him with life when everything else got too much. He was convinced he could live like that, be who everyone wants him to be 90% of the time and keep his true self to himself in those precious moments of solitude. He was convinced living like that would make him happy.

It didn't.

School got harder to bare, and it had nothing to do with his ability to learn or perform good. It had everything to do with the fact that he was doing all of it to please everyone around him. The pressure got too much and little by little he fell in to a deep depression, the crippling kind, the kind where the darkness swallowed him whole, took his life from him, made him believe he would never feel better ever again. Nothing seemed to work this time around, not photography, not running away, not Rebekah. It was only after drinking his feelings away for a few months that it finally hit him – he could change it. He could change all of it, make his life what he wanted it to be, he could break the cycle if he was brave enough and at this point, being his lowest low, the only way he could go was up.

The first person he told about it was Damon, it was one of their binge drinking nights. A very drunken, broken down Stefan sat his brother down in an alley, not being able to wait much longer before sharing his plans with someone. He wanted to leave Chicago and move to New York to start his life all over again. It made sense to him, Damon lived there, Rebekah was already there, and they were both tired of travelling all the time so they could be together. He needed to get away from his current life, most of all, he needed to get away from his controlling father and this seemed like the perfect way to do it. Just like he expected, his entire family had a mental breakdown when he told them that after all of that work and years of being their perfect son, he was throwing it all away to pursue his dreams. He hasn't spoken to his father since that day, which makes it about 2 years now. It stung, he couldn't pretend it didn't hurt him, but he knew he hurt them too. It was not how he wanted it to go down but if he had to chose between himself and pleasing his parents for another year, the choice was very clear.

"Stefan, we need you out here, pronto. " His boss came in to his frame and snapped his fingers in his face as if doing that will help speed him up. Stefan suppressed his urge to roll his eyes and simply nodded in understanding.

"Be right out." He picked up the last few crates of bourbon and stacked them on top of each other to finish his work here. Rebekah words kept replaying in his mind all the while, the last few months have been rough for them. She was beyond disappointed he wasn't making it big like his brother, even though she never wanted to admit it. It was easy for Damon, he had no remorse and almost no morals at all, working with rich parents who cashed out big times for Damon to make their underage daughters and sons in to big pop stars was perfect for him. He loved his job as a manager. Stefan couldn't just sell himself out like that, he would hate himself if he ever did it. It didn't help that Damon had partnered up with Klaus Mikaelson, Rebekah's big brother who owned a big record label. Damon would find them, Klaus would make them in to something overnight, everyone would forget about them next week, but the duo would collect their money up front. They had a handful of lawyers at their disposal to protect themselves, the two were running a well-oiled machine from hell. Rebekah had high hopes for him to join them, make a shitload of money and secure their future, she also didn't mind the momentary fame and attention that came with it. Stefan working as a bartender to save up enough money to put himself through New York Film Academy was not something she signed up for. It was okay at first, they were ecstatic when they first moved in together, things got significantly better and Stefan felt like it would all work out fine. But times change and people change, so did Rebekah and her high expectations of having everything she ever wanted without working for it. She relied solely on her parent's for financial support, if Stefan had let them, they would have bought them the apartment they lived in, but that was not happening. He didn't move from one place to another to be surrounded by the same type of people and the same type of benefits he didn't deserve. He was keen on making it on his own this time around.

He sighed heavily as he put the last crate in its place. It took him a second to look around for all the strewn pieces of his broken phone, he showed them in to his back pocket and headed up front to meet Jackson.

"I'm just saying, those Hooters girls, as fun as they are, don't usually get that far in their careers." Jackson was leaning back on the bar with a beer in his hand, chatting up some poor soul who looked equally confused and horrified.

"Yeah-" the girl eyed Jackson awkwardly "-I just wanted to know whether I was supposed to wear a uniform or not….so-"

Stefan came in at the right moment, breaking that awkward conversation and the girl gave him a quiet but very intense 'thank you' look. He eyed her for an unsuspicious second. Her blonde hair was a wild mess of curls, half of them up and half of them down, tickling her collarbone. She had a kind of innocent about her, he blamed it on the freckles, they were so light you could barely notice them, but you could see them very well if you were close enough, which obviously he was. Not the kind of girl you would find in a bar like this, exactly the opposite…she seemed like the kind of girl who would get kicked out for being too pretty in a place like this. Her frame was very tiny, and her button nose paired with very doe looking eyes attributed to her doll like appearance. How did a gentle creature like that find herself in a hole like this?

"Oh there you are-" Jackson finally acknowledged him and turned around, he squeezed the girl by her shoulders – which she disliked very much judging by the nasty look she gave him – and introduced her. "This is Caren. She's the new bartender I hired."

Stefan's jaw almost dropped. That poor thing would get eaten alive here.

"Actually, it's Caroline." She said and shook his hands off her, giving him a look that could kill. "My name is CAROLINE." Jackson immediately stepped back, obviously as surprised himself.

Okay, maybe Stefan was wrong about her after all.

"Sorry doll. Anyways, this is my boy, Stef." He said pointing to a very intrigued Stefan. He took a step forward and offered his hand to Caroline, who shook it. "It's Stefan." He corrected his boss and yet another one of his lame attempts to nickname him. Not gonna happen.

"So-" Caroline started and took a step forward, looking more confident by the second. It really fascinated Stefan. "-is _your boy Stef_ going to show me around or what?" Her voice had a teasing quality to it. It only set Stefan's curiosity even more.

"Please don't call me Stef." He said defeatedly. "Not unless you want to be called Caren for the rest of your life."

"You would have to be around for the rest of my life for that to catch on, considering I have Jackson on board to call you Stef and only Stef from this day on, I'd say I have the higher ground here." She teased back immediately.

"Then I'll just have to stick around and convince every person you ever meet you're fake and your real name is Caren."

Caroline smiled and her entire face crinkled up in the most delightful way. Stefan had no choice really, he had to smile back at her, her face made him do it. Her stupid, cute face.

The whole thing that just happened, it made absolutely no sense to Jackson. He saw Stefan smile twice in his life and one of those times was when he was informed his Lord of the rings book trilogy arrived earlier by mail. It seemed like he just witnessed one of those movie moments where two characters meet and their chemistry is so off the hook, everyone else just stops and stares in awe, that's exactly how he felt. He cleared his throat to catch their attentions, they were there to work for heaven's sake, not flirt. At least not when he was here, for all he cared, they could fuck in the storage room afterwards.

"You can show her the ropes, right? She has years of experience at working in a bar, but this place is huge, and she needs to learn where everything is. Also, you do have to wear a uniform sweetheart, Stefan will show you to it."

"I do?" Her brows furrowed. "Stefan isn't wearing one."

"Stefan is a guy okay? And as pretty as he looks, guys don't come over here to drool over him and those types of guys are my main source of income. I know – I know, you're gonna call me a sexist, a pig, yada yada. I've heard it all before. But I'm here to make money sweety and you're here to earn it, so you're gonna wear a uniform. If you have a problem with that, the door is right there, okay?"

Caroline sighed deeply and shrugged her shoulders. "Sounds like I don't have a choice."

"Good girl."

Everything about this guy made her wanna slap him, but at the same time he seemed endearing to her. He reminded her a lot of her boss back at home, turns out they are all the same. He meant well but he chose his words sloppily. She decided she would give him a chance, everyone deserved one. It was this Stefan guy that completely threw her off. He looked like one of those guys who finished Yale and you could only find them in a library. He looked way too good to be working here, but then again, she was wrong about so many people in her life, she learnt not to trust her instincts, ever. What was behind that preppy exterior and how did he end up here, she needed to know.

"Come on-" he spoke, signaling her to follow him "-I'll show you around. You've had your flu shots, right?"

"Ha-ha that's very funny Stefano." Jackson snapped back.

"One of these days, I'm going to hurt him. Real bad." Stefan whispered to Caroline as they set off, behind the bar.

"I'll help you hide the body." She whispered, her blue eyes gleaming at him.

They were standing in very close proximity at the moment, her chest was touching his chest and his heart was racing like crazy. He was sure she could feel the beat against her skin. He had to stop that. He had a girlfriend, this was not who he was. There were many girl bartenders here in the last two years, why would this one be any different. Still, he couldn't help himself, he couldn't rationalize it. She offered him a crocked smile, which looked a little naughtier than an innocent smile was supposed to, and he was losing it.

"You and I are going to have a lot of fun, Caroline."

That was it, that sentence did it. What the hell was he thinking? Where did that come from.? He took himself by surprise. This girl was here for about ten minutes and she already changed his entire personality. Was he openly flirting? Why couldn't he stop? Was she really changing the way he acted or was she simply a trigger that let his true self show, without restrictions, without thinking everything through a thousand times like he did with everyone else?

"Is that a threat?" She played along. This girl was dangerous.

"It's a promise."

Oh he was going to get himself in so much trouble….and he didn't even seem to care. At the moment he questioned every decision he's ever made in his life so far and it didn't scare him, it excited him.

* * *

"2A, 2A…..where the fuck is it, oh! There you are, motherfucker." Damon exclaimed excitedly. He was very much hungover and so not in the mood for a scavenger hunt for his stupid wallet, but he really didn't have a choice. He already spent an hour getting there, he wasn't about to give up now. Sure, it was half past midnight and whoever took it was probably asleep, but he couldn't care less. That's what they get for taking it in the first place. He confidently walked over to the door and banged on it as loudly as he could, without a care in the world.

He could hear an annoyed girl's voice coming from the other side. Bingo!

"You have your key, someone better be dying out here for you to so rudely wake me up at this hour Carol-" Bonnie's words were cut off when she opened the door and there stood a very tall, dark haired man with a blackeye. Her brain immediately went in to overdrive, imagining every bad scenario she ever saw on CSI: New York. Oh god, this was it, her first week here and she was already about to get brutally raped and murdered. She quickly pushed the door back, trying to close it but the guy stepped between the frame and the door, resulting in her squishing him in between.

"Ow, Jesus Christ. Not so quick." He yelled.

"Get out of here or I'll scream and call the police!" She tried to sound as threatening as she could, given the fact that she was wearing her pink pajamas and hello kitty slippers, she stood no chance.

"And tell them what? That you stole my wallet and beat me up?!" He yelled back and Bonnie stopped in her tracks. Wait, what now? Was it possible that this was…

"If you don't stop pushing the door on me, this will end badly for the both of us, okay?"

She stopped and stepped aside, looking at the guy in shock.

He finally broke free and sighed with relief. He crouched over, supporting himself on the door-frame to collect himself, he was completely out of breath.

"What is wrong with you, lady? First I offer you a wonderful job position which you so rudely declined and then-" He stopped in his tracks and took another look at her "You're not blonde."

Bonnie crossed her hands over her chest. "Neither are you."

Damon took a step back, looking completely puzzled and confused. "Caroline?!"

"What did she do?" She asked as if she knew exactly who he was talking about.

Damon sighed and crossed his own arms. "Where exactly is the blonde demon?"

* * *

This chapter was a bit more Caroline centered, but the next one will focus more on Damon and Bonnie.

I have a tumblr page made for this fic where you can see scene edits from this chapter and I will be posting character's backgrounds, chapter sneak peeks and more.

You can find it by typing themeetmeatmidnightworld dot tumblr dot com in your search bar (fanficiton doesn't allow links)

What pairing would you like to see more, Bonnie and Damon or Bonnie and Enzo? Let me know in the comments. Also let me know if you would like to see more from this fic! I have a bunch of ideas and I hope you guys will be on board, don't forget to review, it means a lot! I take in suggestions and ideas all the time.


	2. Life saving cup of coffee

„This is insane, I should not have listened to you." Bonnie said angrily, trying to catch up with him. His legs were too long, he took huge strides. One of his steps was literally three of Bonnie's.

"Need I remind you that no one asked you to follow along, if I remember correctly, I told you not to." He said in that annoyed tone he spoke with since first opening his mouth. What was his deal, obviously he was super mad at Caroline for screwing him over and dragging him all over New York so he could finally get his stuff back and yes, it was really late, but Bonnie was a victim here! A victim of circumstance! She did nothing wrong, yet it felt like she was paying for everything. That's what you get for being a decent friend.

"And what was I supposed to do, huh? Just leave you alone to go find my friend and murder her in a dark alley?"

Damon chuckled, this girl was the most paranoid person he'd met in his entire life, they've been together for about 20 minutes and she already accused him of being a robber, a rapist, a terrorist and a serial killer. Charming.

"Look, I just want my stuff back, okay? Your crazy roommate took it too far and I'm in no mood to play around any longer."

"You could have come back tomorrow, why did we have to go track her down tonight?"

"Once again, _we_ have to do nothing, all _you_ had to do was tell me where she worked and as far as I'm concerned, you could have been comfortably asleep by now. Would be a lot better than following me around all out of breath, seriously. Are you okay? You sound like you're about to pass out."

"Because you take freakishly long steps and I can't catch up!" She gave up and stopped for a second to catch her breath, surprisingly he stopped as well. He turned around and observed her like she was some unknown specimen. It made her feel uncomfortable. "What?" She reacted in the best way she knew how, with additional hate.

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone so tiny be so mad all the time." He said casually and put his hands on his hips, continuing to stare her down. "Are you mad because you can't reach the top shelves at the stores? Or because you're so short you can't hear what the rest of us, normal people, are talking about up here? Is that it, Moody?"

"That's very original, what's next, calling me a midget? Since you're so creative, James Dean wannabe."

His eyebrows rose as he feigned being hurt. "Ouch, now that one really hurt my feelings."

She gave him an eyeroll and walked passed him. "You're a jerk."

"And she keeps pushing the dagger deeper and deeper in to my poor, fragile heart." Damon pressed on, straight up mocking her. Calm down Bonnie, you are an adult. A really put together, sensible adult who is way above this.

"I wish I had a real dagger right now, to stick it up your arrogant butt." Now you've shown him.

"Just go home, I can take care of this myself. It's like one in the morning, don't you have work to do tomorrow like the rest of the normal people?"

"Ugh, don't you?"

"I have a very flexible schedule." He said casually and continued walking next to her. It was true, she had work to do tomorrow, she also had work to do at home, but leaving this aggressive stranger Caroline met at the bar, to deal with her alone…the thought of it made her nervous. She didn't trust him that much yet, which made it really stupid of her to voluntarily follow him to Caroline's new workplace, in the middle of the night, alone. She didn't have time to think it through, as soon as she accidentally spilled where Caroline was, the dude was out the door, marching forward like a crazy person.

"That's exactly what someone who has nothing to do all day would say." She continued pressing his buttons, it was obviously the only way the could converse. This time it didn't evoke the same playful reaction from him. His face hardened, his eyes somehow becoming darker, had he not been moving, she would think he was a sculpture.

"You don't know me." He said simply and sternly. He didn't look at her this time, she obviously struck a nerve, big times. A wave of guilt immediately washed over her, she was tired and irritated, it was not fair of her to expect kindness from him when she gave him nothing in return.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"If you're going to follow me around, which obviously you have no intention of stopping, let's spend this time in quiet, okay? I'm not in the mood to chat."

Bonnie opened her mouth to speak, but she didn't really know what to say. Sucks being on the receiving end. She quietly nodded and followed him, settling back in to their rhythm; him being three steps ahead of her and her losing her breath to tag along. This would never have happened in Mystic Falls.

* * *

"How sleazy are we talking about here?" Caroline took another swig of her beer, it was very late at this point. Stefan was done showing her around but making conversation with him was so easy and considering the fact she had only Bonnie here, she could do well with a new friend. Besides, they were going to work together from now on, getting along was necessary to survive long work days, especially at a busy bar like this one. She decided to ignore the fact that the boy was crazy attractive, she could not go there. She learnt that the hard way with Matt, back at home.

"Depends on how drunk they get, it's pretty rough on Fridays and Saturdays, but the rest of the week goes by without much fuss. And we're not talking about old unemployed trucker guys sleazy, we're talking about frat boys and spoiled rich guys sleazy." Stefan explained.

"Really?" She was surprised, her brows furrowed in that cute way again, almost making him smile…again. "I thought this was more of a trucker/motor head type of place."

"Oh no, don't be fooled by the whole _dark hole_ charm, this is the kind of place preppy people come to when they want to let loose and wind down, get absolutely shitfaced and pretend it never happened."

"Those are the worst."

"You're in for a treat. So are they, they are going to love your uniform." He teased. He was getting a little tipsy. He couldn't forget the look on her face when he handed it to her and she examined it, she was absolutely horrified. As she should be. He was thankful he didn't have to wear something like it, Jackson didn't really care about his male bartenders, there weren't many women coming in and those who did were so thirsty for attention that no uniform made a difference, Stefan was the cougar's favorite. He never thought much of it, at first he was horrified but you get used to it, thick skin was essential for this job. If he got a penny for every divorced woman his mother's age who tried to get him back to her hotel room after work, he would not have to work here anymore.

At first, he was very reluctant but with time he learned how to play it to his advantage. Their tips were amazing, and he was here to earn money after all. It liberated him in the way the old Stefan could never. He was way too stuck up and morally conflicted, but the new "improved" Stefan didn't give a fuck.

He flirted shamelessly, gave them free drinks, joked around and complimented them. They loved it, he loved it, it was perfect. He knew he would never cross the line, he loved Rebekah. She never wanted to come down here anyways, it freaked her out too much, so it gave him the freedom to be who ever he wanted to be, without hurting anyone in the process.

"Oh god, the uniform. It's just plain wrong, look at it." Caroline lifted it up and showed it to him, shaking her head in disbelief. "Who could ever fit in this? Women without hips? Probably…"

"You said you wanted the smallest size- "Stefan shrugged. Caroline eyed the thing with suspicion. It was a two-piece, navy colored shirt and skirt combo with red stripes. Both pieces buttoned up in the front with big navy buttons, it reminded her of some sort of pin up sailor girl outfit, but with much less class. For one, the cut was way too low, and the length of the skirt was just offensive.

"I know, I didn't think it through." She eyed the thing for another moment and snapped her fingers, earning Stefan's attention. "I'm gonna try it on right now."

"What?" Stefan's brows rose to the ceiling. She was going to try it right now? In here? She was going to try it right now with him in here? Was this girl deliberately trying to make him sin?

"I'm trying it on right now, I need to know what it looks like so I can change it up if it's too small, right?"

"I guess- "Stefan swallowed hard. She must have noticed. She smiled and jumped off the bar, taking the uniform with her.

"Relax Stefan, I'm not going to try it _right here_. I'll change in the back."

Stefan sighed with relief but tried to play it off cool. "Yeah, no. I didn't mean you were going to- "

"Be right back."

As soon as she was gone Stefan stood up from where he was seated on the opposite side of the bar and stretched out his legs. He put down his empty beer bottle and decided he needed to get some fresh air and clear out his head. It was really, really late, Rebekah was probably freaking out at home and he broke his stupid phone earlier, so he had no way of calling her to let her now. He thought about borrowing Caroline's but for some reason he didn't want to tell her he had a girlfriend. It sounded as bad thinking about it now as it did the first time he thought about it. This was some girl he only just met, he was overreacting. There was nothing going on, he acted this way around everyone, right?

He had that big fight with Rebekah earlier, of course he wasn't thinking about her at the moment, he needed a break from their drama and Caroline was just a distraction. That's right.

He opened the front door of the bar and inhaled the breezy air, it felt good, it made him feel calmer. He had to finish cleaning up, lock the place up and head straight home to his girlfriend, who he loved very much. He had to apologize, make up with her so everything could be normal again. He would soon forget about this bonding time with Caroline. They were about to start working together, they were bound to get on each other's nerves sooner or later. He felt content with his conclusion, so he took another deep breath and closed the door after him.

"I think we should close up soon, Caroline?" His words were cut off when he saw her emerge from the storage, completely dressed up in her uniform.

He felt like someone punched him in the gut.

The thing hugged her body perfectly, it seemed like it was specifically tailored for her. The navy blue really stood out with her pale skin and blue eyes, they seemed even more intense now than they did before. She let her hair out of her bun and he could be imagining it, but it made her ten times more attractive than she already was, which said a lot. He didn't even let himself stare too long, he could not go there. And to think this uniform looked absolutely ridiculous on every single person who has worn it so far. Stefan was speechless, he didn't remember ever feeling this way with any girl in his life, including Rebekah and it scared the living crap out of him.

"I do think it's too short, but honestly, not as bad as I thought it would be."

Stefan opened his mouth and closed it again. What was he supposed to say? _'I am incredibly turned on by you, a complete stranger, and it's freaking me out?' _Because that's the only thing he could think of right now. He wasn't used to this, girls usually left him coldblooded. He found them pretty and attractive, but it never really left him speechless and downright paralyzed. It felt like someone pulled a Freaky Friday on him and someone else was in his body.

Caroline looked like she wanted to say something then all of a sudden, her expression changed to one of pure shock. Her eyes jumped out and her mouth dropped open. "Oh my god." She muttered quietly under her breath.

"Well, well, well. Who do we have here?"

Stefan recognized the familiar voice in a second, but he was convinced he was making it up. He turned around and lo and behold, there stood Damon with a very amused expression on his face and a very confused looking girl beside him. Stefan shook his head, this day just kept on getting weirder and weirder.

"Damon?" Stefan squinted his eyes at him, trying to make sense of the situation.

"You!" Damon angrily pointed behind him and walked towards Caroline.

"Her?" Stefan's eyes shot from a guilty looking Caroline to his angry looking brother.

"Them." Bonnie said exasperatedly. "No, wait a second, that doesn't sound right. They? Them? Theeey…no it's them, I'm positive. Them!" She exclaimed and pointed at the two.

"What the hell is going on?" Stefan started freaking out. Damon walked over and smashed his hands on the bar that Caroline was hiding behind.

"Give me my wallet back, blondie." He got in to her face. Caroline gave him a look of pure hatred and smashed her own hands on the counter, even louder than he did, trying to outdo him.

"No! Son of a bitch, that hurt like hell!" She looked at her red palms, wincing in pain.

"You guys, stop fighting, if everyone just calmed down, I'm sure we could work it out." Bonnie chimed in. Aaaah, sweet, old Bonnie, forever the peace maker. Caroline gave her an _"as if"_ look that signaled this was going to be anything but peaceful.

"Stay out of this Bonnie, what are you even doing here?"

"I'm here to protect you!" She stomped her foot and formed fists with her hands. It made Damon laugh out loud.

"Come on, Bonners-" he couldn't stop laughing, Bonnie wanted to punch him "-be serious for a second."

"Bonners? Since when do you have nicknames?" Caroline asked angrily. Stefan just kept looking at the three of them, his head spinning. What the actual fuck was going on.

"For your information, Bonns and I've had plenty of time to bond walking here in the middle of the night to track your blonde ass down." Damon spit out angrily. He reached over, trying to grab a hold of her hand but Caroline moved away, resulting in him almost falling over the bar.

"Oh my god" Bonnie screeched, and Caroline covered her mouth with her hands in shock at Damon. He was dangling off the counter, his ass up in the air and his head down. She could help, but she could also laugh and make the situation even worse. The latter seemed much more fun.

"Can someone please, for the love of god, tell me what the hell is going on here?" Stefan suddenly yelled out and the whole room went silent. Caroline finally stopped laughing and stared at him. That was unexpected, equally _hot_ and _scary_. Weird.

"Jesus Damon, what is the matter with you?" He walked over and grabbed Damon by his jacket, pulling him up and back to on his feet . "It feels like we've already done this so many times, but you don't seem drunk this time."

"Thaaaank you." Damon said and dusted himself off. Stefan was not amused.

"Okay. Fine, Steffie-" Damon spoke slowly, thinking about what he was going to say. "I'll explain what happened."

"Please." Stefan urged on.

"No, I'll explain what happened- "Caroline emerged from behind the bar "-He's just going to lie and- " She stopped for a second, a puzzled expression on her face. Her eyes darted from Stefan to Damon, trying to connect the dots. "- wait a minute, how do you guys know each other's names?"

Stefan and Damon looked at each other, both of them opening their mouths to speak, but Damon was quicker.

"Glad you asked, Barbie. This-" he put his hands on Stefan's shoulders, who couldn't look more annoyed if he tried "-is my dear brother, Stefan. Steffie-bear."

"The sleazy porn manager is your brother?!" Caroline shrieked in shock. Stefan's facial expression was priceless.

"Hey! Some girls would have killed for an offer like that!" Damon defended himself and was back to his fight with Caroline. Stefan looked like someone just woke him up in the middle of the night and he had no idea who he was or what was going on, accurate to how he was actually feeling. "And I don't do porn stars, I do teenagers."

He knew it sounded so wrong the minute it left his mouth. Caroline looked like she was about to pass out and Stefan simply gave up.

"That came out wrong, I have nothing to do with children pornography or sex with minors, please don't call the cops. Stefan, tell her-" he shook Stefan by his shoulders.

"Huh?" Stefan was still totally out of it. He should have stayed at home today, sleep in, work out, maybe have a bagel. Really, anything but this would have been fine.

"I'm a manager for young rising stars, it has NOTHING to do with porn of any kind, okay?" Damon yelled out to no one in particular. "She stole my wallet Stefan and she just left with it, I was forced to track her down." Damon said rather dramatically.

"I didn't steal anything, I took it for safe keeping till you apologized." Caroline put her hands on her hips and explained herself in a matter-of-fact manner.

"Apologize?! Look at my eye!" Damon squinted at her with his bruised eye, still yelling at the top of his lungs, she felt like they were in a Broadway production and Damon was the main villain, making a victim out of himself. She averted her look to the floor, she was definitely guilty as charged. "You almost blinded me."

"I did not blind you!"

"I can't see." He pretended he was blind and started purposely bumping in to things, including Caroline.

"Wil the two of you just stop!" Bonnie suddenly yelled out, she was losing it with the two of them and that Stefan…poor guy looked like his head was going to explode.

"Are you happy now?" Damon accusingly looked at Caroline "We made Bon Bon mad."

"I'm sorry." Stefan finally spoke and turned around to face Bonnie "Who are you?"

"Bonnie Bennett! Caroline's roommate." She said excitedly, relieved they were finally switching from _the stupidest fight of the century_. Stefan nodded in understanding. "I'm Stefan, obviously."

Bonnie nodded as well and sighed. "Do you guys have coffee or something? I feel like this is going to take a while."

Stefan looked completely relieved. "I'll make us both a cup right now, if we can drink it outside."

Caroline and Damon stood next to each other, mimicking each other's confused expression. Bonnie and Stefan completely ignored them and went outside to sit on the steps and have their cup of coffee.

"Did they just-" Caroline started.

"-blew us off and went out for coffee? Yes." Damon finished and crossed his hands over his chest.

"I still want my wallet."

* * *

Hi! I had no intention of posting so soon but seeing the feeback I got was really positive and the story was well received, I've decided to surprise you with a quick update. Next chapter we'll meet Enzo, Klaus, Rebekah and more so stay tuned 😊

**Is there any character or couple you'd like me to explore more? Also, do you prefer shorter chapters and quicker updates, or longer more in-depth chapters that take some time to write, but are a little better in quality? Please let me know.**

The biggest thank you to everyone who reviewed and followed, your feedback means a lot and encourages me want to write even more. Someone suggested I should do more sections so longer paragraphs could be easier to read and I tried my best to make it better this time.

Sneak peeks and scene edits can be found at themeetmeatmidnightworld tumblr, just copy the name in to your search bar and finish it off with dot tumblr dot com (FF doesn't allow links).


	3. Making things right

This was not meant to happen, not at all. Yesterday, well today technically, has been the most chaotic day in the last few months of his usually boring life and of course, his brother had something to do with it.

Stefan sighed heavily as he walked in to his shower, letting the scorching water wash away his confusion. It was fairly early in the morning, he was working his night shift again today so he wasn't really in the need to rush but he couldn't sleep. Rebekah barely acknowledged him when he returned home, at three in the morning. He knew she saw him, he saw her open her eyes, but she quickly closed them and turned her back on him, barricading herself with her pillows, not to be disturbed by his presence.

Whatever happened last night, could not happen again. He wasn't acting like himself and even though it felt good in the moment, it felt really, really bad afterwards. He was getting way too relaxed and it was bound to get him in trouble, sooner or later. He couldn't stop thinking about it since last night.

Caroline was just another attractive girl that he needed to get out of his system. In fact, he was convinced he already did, yesterday. It would be strictly professional from now on. No more late-night chats at the bar, no more checking her out when she wasn't aware, no more "unintentional" flirting. And he had to tell her he had a girlfriend as soon as possible. Not that she cared, and it's definitely not like he owed it to her, but still. There's a chance she mistook his "friendly" behavior the wrong way and he had to clear it up for his own sake…and the sake of his relationship. Speaking of.

He could hear some noise coming from the other room, so he quickly turned the water off and grabbed a towel. He dried himself off as fast as he could and threw on a clean pair of sweats and a tee. They met in the hallway, she was obviously heading towards the bathroom with a towel in one of her hands and her makeup bag in the other.

"Morning." He said quietly, offering her an apologetic smile. He knew it was a long shot, but he still needed to try. She walked pass him like he wasn't even there and smashed the bathroom door in his face when he tried to follow her. He took the hint and gave her some time and very needed space. It was only after half an hour that he lost his patience and tried again.

"Oh, come on Rebekah." He knocked on the door a few times. "At least give me a chance to explain what happened."

The door forcefully opened causing him to lose balance and stumble in to the bathroom, almost knocking her over in the process, she lightly pushed him out of her way and proceeded to the kitchen, set on making herself some tea.

"Fine. Be mad at me, but there's really not a single reasonable excuse for it."

"Who's Caroline?" She looked him dead in the eye, catching him off guard. Stefan's mouth opened but no words came out. _Did he talk in his sleep? Oh my god…what did he say?!_

"Wh-why would you ask that?" He was not doing himself a favor, but he literally couldn't think of one thing to say.

She set her steaming tea on the counter. _Hey, at least she wasn't throwing it in his face, that was good, right?_

Her hand dove in to her robe's pocket and she pulled out a little scrunched up piece of paper. _Oh, that's how she found out. She found Caroline's number in his pocket. Wait a minute, she was going through his pockets? Is now a good time to bring that up?_

"Rebekah-" he walked over and took her hands in to his, trying to search for her eyes "-that's my new coworker, she just got the job at the bar. The only reason for that note is the fact that my phone broke and I couldn't add her to my phonebook." He took his hands back and stuffed them in to his pockets, he felt incredibly lame. What was he thinking last night and exactly how did he put himself in a position where he had to explain some girl to his girlfriend, what was he, fifteen?

"I'm really sorry, okay?" He said as sincerely as he could, because he actually was sorry. She finally looked at him, she didn't look quite convinced, but they were getting there. He walked around the kitchen counter and pulled her in for a hug. "I'm sorry I was late last night and didn't call you. And this-" he took the paper and scrunched it up, trying to prove a point "-is nothing. She's just another coworker, you can come down to meet her one day." _Please don't come down and meet her one day, seeing how hot she actually was is not going to improve anything._

"That would never happen, you know I hate that place." She finally spoke and returned the hug. "I was just so worried."

"I know, it won't happen again, okay?" Stefan brushed her hair out of her face and gave her a kiss on the forehead. She didn't say a word, but her hostile stance was gone, thankfully.

She took her cup of tea and some book about herbalism from the counter and settled down on the couch on the other side of the room. Things were fine. They were fine. He was fine.

"By the way, I signed us up for that early morning class I was talking about, you know, the couple's chakra cleansing class, on Saturday."

Things were_ fine_.

* * *

"I'm so sorry, Bonnie, I had no idea he would go that far." Caroline apologized for what seemed like the hundredth time as she stacked another pancake on Bonnie's plate. Two more and Bonnie would disappear behind the stack. It was only fair to treat her to an amazing breakfast, for all the drama Caroline caused her. All of it was unintentional, but that didn't matter now. She finally put the pan down and proceeded to drown the pancakes in maple syrup.

"Do you want me to die from eating this?" Bonnie whined and took her fork, ready to dig in but Caroline pushed the fork away, still working on that syrup.

"Not yet, I still have to fetch the berries and whipped cream."

Bonnie wanted to protest but seeing the determined look on Caroline's face let her know it would be for nothing. She didn't mind this pancake tower kind of a guilt spree, maybe she should get mad at Caroline more often.

Caroline put a handful of blueberries on the stack that was overflowing with syrup and finished it off with a single decorative strawberry. She slid the plate to Bonnie with a proud smile. _How could anyone be mad at her?_

"Ta-daaah! Enjoy!"

"Care, I know you feel really guilty, but you didn't have to do this, did you get any sleep at all?"

"I couldn't." She poured herself a second cup of coffee and slowly sipped on it. Even with no sleep, she was so full of energy, it made Bonnie sick. Bonnie was as far from a morning person as one can be, she could barely function before 11 AM. The pancakes helped.

"I spent what was left of our catastrophic night memorizing ingredients for every cocktail we serve at the Sax. I figured, the more I learn by heart, the less time it'll take me to make it and I'll get tipped more."

"Girl, with the uniform they gave you, you'll get tipped plenty."

"I know. Is it bad that I kind of like it?" Caroline scrunched up her nose and squinted in a guilty manner.

"No-" Bonnie started with a serious face then pulled a smirk on her "- you slut."

"Bonnie!" Caroline grabbed a couple of blueberries on the side and threw them at her friend. Bonnie gasped and gave her the signature angry mom look.

"You're cleaning that up."

Both of them settled down and dove in to their breakfast. Bonnie decided to check out the New York Times just for the sake of it and Caroline scrolled through her Instagram feed, scoffing every time something Kardashian popped up.

"If you dislike them so much, why don't you unfollow them?"

"You don't get it Bonnie-" she licked her fork and put it down "- people love to hate them, it's a love and hate relationship. Do they annoy me? Yes! Will I stop scrolling through their feed? Hell no, I need to know how this Khloe-Tristan situation will develop, she deserves better, you know?"

Bonnie swore she got a headache just from that. "I really don't."

"Just let me have it, I need something to bitch about, otherwise I'll start taking it out on people."

"What do you mean _you'll start_? Are you trying to tell me this is you being kind?" Bonnie teased.

Caroline squinted her eyes at her and picked up her plate, putting it in the sink. She stretched out and peeped through the window. She loved this apartment, she knew she could do wonders with it, it was like a dream come true. It was nothing big and glamorous, but it was cozy, and it had great potential, one Caroline was determined to use to it's fullest.

"I'm gonna do some crafting today!" She exclaimed happily and clapped her hands together, rubbing them like she had the greatest plan anyone has ever had.

"Yay!" Bonnie feigned excitement, Caroline was definitely the creative one, Bonnie could do with a mattress on the floor, a working bathroom and a blanket. "I'm soooo excited I won't be here when that happens."

"Bonnie, forever the cynic….you know, you can pretend you don't care, all you want, but I know for a fact you enjoyed your room after I redecorated it, I saw you sighing happily when you tried out the pillows and the bedding-" She pointed her finger accusingly "- you loved it!"

"How can you not? It's so fluffy. You got me with the fluff, you knew I was a sucker for all things soft and warm!" Bonnie tried to defend herself. Caroline was right, she always ended up liking it in the end. She would never admit it though.

"Whatever." Caroline sighed and picked up her unfinished cup of coffee. She looked bothered, like she wanted to say something, but didn't know how. She fidgeted around with the cup for a while before finally setting it down and sitting on the other side of the kitchen counter so she could face Bonnie.

"Just say it." Bonnie said, still looking at her newspaper.

"What?"

"I know you want to say something, just say it."

Caroline bit the insides of her cheeks and sighed. The way she said her words was very slow and uncertain. "You and that Stefan guy-" she bit her lip "-What was that all about?"

A little weight dropped from Bonnie's chest, she was relieved. This was much better than Caroline questioning the whole Damon thing and their banter – which she definitely picked up on last night - Bonnie was sure she'd get to that as well, but she was not ready to answer those questions. Last night was weird and it made no sense, the only good thing that came out of it was meeting Stefan and making sure that he is no psycho and Caroline would be safe working at Sax by his side.

Bonnie never wanted to admit it to Caroline, but she was really nervous about her working there. Bartending at a place like that was not a big deal in Mystic Falls where you knew everyone and even if someone got aggressive, someone else would intervene and calm things down. This was not Mystic Falls. This was a huge city with all kind of strangers and, well, Caroline was a pretty girl who grabbed everyone's attention, wanted and unwanted. It was good to know Stefan was an okay guy.

"You mean after you and Damon finished trying to kill one another?" Bonnie said sarcastically to which Caroline rolled her eyes. It was impossible for her to even think of Damon and not get instantly annoyed, the guy affected her that way. It was hard to even think that him and Stefan were in any way related.

"I think his brother gives him a hard time, which obviously, the two of you have in common."

"I'll drink to that." Caroline joked and took a sip of her now cold coffee.

"I think you'll have fun working with him, he seems very down to earth if you ask me. He's pretty funny, he told me this story about him and his girlfrie-"

"He has a girlfriend?" Caroline couldn't even stop herself, the words just flew out of her mouth.

"Yeah, I think so-" Bonnie said awkwardly, did something happen and Bonnie wasn't in on it? She'd have to do some research. "-it could have been an ex or something, I don't know."

Caroline didn't say anything, she just nodded and finished her coffee.

"Anyways, he seems like a really nice guy." Bonnie noticed the change in Caroline's behavior, but she couldn't figure out what caused it.

"Nice guys never turn out to be that nice, you know." Caroline muttered.

"I guess you'll have no other choice than to find out yourself." She pushed herself off the stool, she definitely ate too much. "I need to get ready for work, I want to get there early, go through my notes."

"You need to text me as soon as you can when you get there, okay? And you'll do amazing, it's you, Bonnie. You can't do any wrong." Caroline said, trying her best to support her friend, who she was so incredibly proud of.

"We'll see about that."

* * *

"- _and of course, being one of the greatest managers in the world, you were also my inspiration._ Oh-" Bonnie gasped as she forcefully bumped in to an innocent girl on the street. She didn't even have time to apologize, the girl huffed and moved on without saying a word. _Fine_. Her nerves were getting the best of her. She was going over every possible question anyone at the firm could ask her and reciting the answers in her head.

She knew there were 4 other people with far better education than her, and chances are, all of them took this internship to get the official assistant job. Bonnie wanted it, she wanted it bad. Job opportunities like this one were exactly the reason she wanted to come to New York.

This was is. She stood in awe in front of the building. Everything about this city was way bigger than she was used to, and the architecture left her speechless. She found herself purposely taking the longer routes anywhere she went because she enjoyed walking around and soaking it all up as much as she could. She wanted to hold on to that feeling of always being in awe for as long as she could, it made every day exciting and full of wonderful sensations, something she never got back at home.

It was much different than she expected, she prepared herself for the worst. Rude people, dirty streets and depressing surroundings, but this was anything but. She went with Caroline's philosophy of giving everything a chance and it worked, she was in love with the city life. Turns out the best things in life really were on the other side of your fears.

Bonnie took a deep breath; her hands were shaking from being nervous and having that third cup of coffee. She knew that one would ruin her, but she needed it. Being nervous and also, saving her friend from a sure death late in to the night meant she got no sleep at all. She needed to look awake, ready and perfect for today, first impressions were a must in a situation like this.

She flattened out some imaginary stray hairs, made sure there was no lipstick on her teeth and she slowly walked up the stairs. The place was so fancy they even had a doorman.

The place looked amazing, it was unlike anywhere she'd ever been so far. Everything looked so sterile, even the secretaries looked kind of the same; white shirts neatly tucked in to tight black pencil skirts, blonde hair in perfectly arranged buns and black stilettos, very precise. They looked like they weren't real people. That one freaked her out.

She walked over to the main counter, to one of the blonde robot secretaries. The woman looked at her and smiled, not a warm, welcoming smile, oh no. A creepy, mechanic kind of smile. Very cold.

"Hello and welcome to _Elite_, my name is Anabelle. Can I have your name and the reason why you're here?" She sounded like Siri.

"Bonnie Bennett. I'm one of the new interns."

"Second floor, to the left, there's a lady that will explain the rest. But first, please fill out this form so we can make you a pass, you'll need it to get to the other floors." The lady explained while Bonnie looked at her, clearly taken by the whole thing. "Mr. St. John takes security very seriously." She explained.

Bonnie took the form from the lady and started filling it. She couldn't wait to text Caroline about the whole thing.

"There you go." She handed the filled form and attempted to hide her being uncomfortable by smiling. The woman didn't even blink. She was incredibly beautiful, there wasn't a single thing out of place, yet she was so terrifying to Bonnie. She wasn't used to this level of preppiness. Anabelle scribbled something on the form and typed furiously on her white mac computer.

Standing there awkwardly made Bonnie ten times more nervous than she was. She thought about attempting small talk or cracking a joke, but that probably wouldn't go well either. Anabelle suddenly looked up and handed Bonnie a nametag type of card.

"Keep this with you at all times and make sure you don't lose it, this grants you access to the first two floors, it's all you're going to need while you intern here." _What the hell happens on all of the other floors?_

"Bonnie Bennett." Bonnie heard her name being called by a male voice, for a minute she thought she was imagining it, no one knew her here. She took her pass from Anabelle and turned around. _Oh my god._

"Bonnie Bennett, right?" A suited man walked over, everyone stared at him like he was some sort of God. Bonnie gulped hard. How was this her life? Enzo St. John, the Enzo St. John, Elite's CEO, one of the most powerful people probably in the universe, Bonnie's biggest inspiration in the business world. Someone pinch her. She realized she wasn't speaking, and she probably looked like a complete idiot standing there and staring at him.

"Yes. Yes, that's me." Was all she could muster. She blinked quickly, trying to pull herself together. He looked even better in real life than she could have ever imagined. How was he real and why was he talking to her? She knew very well he'd be here, but never in a million years did she think she would meet him on her first day and he would know her _by her name_.

He walked over and offered his hand for her to shake. She immediately started overthinking it; was her grip firm enough or was it too limp? Was she shaking his hand too long? Should she look away or keep eye contact?

Thankfully, Enzo took his hand back and smiled politely, he had to know she was screaming on the inside, he just had to.

"I'm sorry." Bonnie sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm not usually this stupid, it's just-" Enzo laughed at her honesty, he was so beautiful "- I wasn't expecting to meet you here and I read so many of your books. I-" she sighed "-I sound like a real dork now, don't I?"

Enzo smirked and straightened out his tie, the golden ring on his pinky almost blinded her, _God she was poor_.

"Actually, I find you very interesting, Miss Bennett."

Miss Bennett? From now on she wanted every person in the world to call her exclusively as Miss Bennett, preferably with that sexy accent.

"I recognized you from your picture on the application form for the position, I have to say, I was very impressed by your choice of words."

She was blushing and she couldn't do anything to stop it. She wanted to keep it cool, but she physically couldn't, she felt like a complete fangirl. _Stupid Bonnie_. This was her chance to make her first impression and she was acting like a fifteen-year-old.

"Thank you, I'm surprised- "she had to take a deep breath in between her sentences, it gave her time to actually think what she was about to say and not make a total fool of herself. "- I thought someone else would go through our applications."

"Someone else does- "he put his hands in his pockets and Bonnie wanted to scream, everything he did was so attractive, she couldn't help herself but stare at him. She tried not to be super obvious while doing so. "-but the best ones are brought to my attention, like yours."

What were the odds of this being her life? It feels like just yesterday she was in her room, highlighting his quotes about success in one of her Management books, dreaming of making something out of herself one day. And now? He was standing in front of her, calling her by her name, complimenting her application. What a wild life.

"Come with me, I'll escort you to your first internship meeting, I'm on my way there myself."

_Did she even have a choice?_

* * *

"Perfect, can you deliver those by Friday?" Caroline checked another item off her checklist. Everything was so quick here, she was living for it. If you wanted something delivered in Mystic Falls, you'd do better getting it yourself. She had a peaceful morning of arranging for the rest of the furniture she ordered online to be delivered. She made sure everything met her standards and could work with little space that she had. She had it all planned out; she sketched out every room, included pattern options for Bonnie to chose from for her own room and decided on patterns and fabrics for everything else herself. She made sure they had extra money for furnishing and living comfortably before they came here. Bonnie put in a lot of trust in her by moving here, so Caroline wanted to make everything as flawless as possible.

She checked the clock from the corner of her eye and sighed. It was time to stop playing interior designer and get ready for work. Honestly, she didn't know what to expect. She hoped things wouldn't be awkward between Stefan and her because of everything that happened last night. She only hoped Stefan was a man of deeds, not words and he would see for himself that she isn't as bad as Damon probably made her out to be.

She put her planner away and went in to her makeshift bedroom to change in to the outfit she chose for the day. It was a rather warm spring day, spring was her favorite. She loved it when everything was in bloom, the air was warm, and everyone seemed much more chipper than usual. Caroline didn't do well with negative people, she needed positive energy to live.

"Please don't beat me up." Was the first thing she heard when she arrived. At least he still wanted to talk to her...

Caroline took out her earphones and squinted at Stefan across the bar. Somewhere far, far away, in another hell hole, a pleased Damon was grinning from ear to ear, she was sure of it.

"I see, you had a talk with your dear brother."

Stefan lifted up a glass he was polishing to examine the thing even more, making sure it was flawlessly clean.

"It was more of a monologue."

They haven't even made eye contact yet, he was very focused on the glass. Caroline found the devotion very interesting for some reason.

"Don't believe a word he said, I have the real tea." She took a seat at the bar.

"We have some tea in the back." Stefan murmured, putting the glass back in its place on one of the hanging shelves. He finally looked up at her. He stopped for a minute. Her dress was lilac with daisies on it, it suited her, made her look innocent and pure. Stefan didn't know why he found her so endearing.

That gut feeling was back again, the guilt kicked in. He promised himself, no longing looks.

"No, I didn't mean tea as in beverage I meant- "His confused puppy face was killing her. "-never mind. You old man."

Stefan's hand immediately went up to his chest, feigning being offended.

"I'm gonna go change. If you laugh at the uniform one time, I will beat the crap out of you." Her raised brows were very threatening.

_Oh, he's not gonna laugh, alright. He might pass out trying to suppress the urge to look at her, though. _

"I promise."

* * *

"What about that little redhead, she had an alright voice, her moves were a little stiff, but it's nothing a little practice can't solve."

"I'm dropping her, she made some rather racist remarks on her Twitter two years ago, people pick up on these things very quickly nowadays, can't have that kind of drama when you're starting out."

"Everyone has some kind of drama, these kids are stupid, they tweet all kind of things. If we keep going at this rate, we'll be back where we started, I need some new talent, it's been a dry few months."

"Patience, my friend. Have a little trust in me."

Damon sighed, he never understood how Klaus kept it this calm. He had to hand it to him, his plans always worked out in the end, the man had talent.

"What's got you so worked up?" Klaus asked carefully. Damon's mouth was a tight line.

"Women." He said, pausing dramatically to sip his scotch. "Can't live with them-"

"- can't live without them." Klaus finished for him. "Cheer up my friend, Elena will come around, and hey, if she doesn't, there's plenty of thirsty fish in the sea who'd give anything just to kiss your hand."

"It's not Elena that worries me, it's that blonde demon who gave me a blackeye."

"Shush, that girl was simply gorgeous."

"You think? Would you still find her gorgeous if she gave you this?" Damon pointed angrily to his swollen eye. He was still not over it, the fact that his brother worked with her made him even more pissy. She seemed like trouble.

"She's feisty, just how I like them."

"She works with Stefan now, she's the new bartender."

Klaus's face changed from playful to intrigued. Damon could see something brewing inside of him. He truly was the devil in disguise. s

"Perhaps we should stop by for a drink then."

* * *

Let me start of by saying a massive thank you for your support. I wasn't expecting much since this is my first fic and I don't have an audience, but you guys have been so good to me, I don't deserve it! It makes me work even harder on new chapters to come so your feedback definitely has an impact. I am currently working on a bigger chapter so it might take a while to update, but it will be worth it.

For anyone interested in graphics, photosets and additional backstories, check out tumblr:

themeetmeatmidnightworld dot tumblr dot com

There's already a sneak peek for chapter 4 on there :)

What do you think of Enzo and Rebekah's characters? Would you like more of them in the future? Same goes for Klaus. Also, what's your opinion on smutty chapters in the future? Would you read or skip them, let me know :)


	4. Tension

"Can you get me another one of those, sweetheart?"

"Of course." Stefan smiled to the middle-aged woman as he took her glass and started to refill it. Caroline observed quietly, it was very amusing to her. Those women were so thirsty for Stefan's attention, it was almost too good to be true. Depressingly enough, it reminded her of her own mother, she was exactly like that. The two women at the bar whispered something and giggled in Stefan's direction.

"And I thought, I'd have problems with getting hit on." She slid over to Stefan's side, trying not to be too obvious. Stefan smirked and shook his head.

"I'm used to it, most of the time I just ignore it, but if I'm really in the mood, I might smile."

"Oooh, dangerous."

"You have no idea."

If the crooked smile he was giving her right now was any indication of that, she knew exactly how dangerous it was.

"Here you go ladies." Stefan slid the drinks over to them. Caroline observed, set on capturing that award-winning smile with her own eyes. Nothing. The two women were seemingly as disappointed as she was.

"Thanks, you're a peach." One of them said and threw him a smile anyway.

"Did you hear that? I'm a peach." He said with a smug smile.

"So cold Salvatore, so cold."

"What'd I do now?"

"You know exactly what you did." She poked his chest with an accusing finger. "You flirt and you tease and do the whole _'I'm a good guy'_ charade, but honestly, you're just as bad as the rest of them."

"Who's the rest of them?" Stefan crossed his arms and stepped forward. She could smell his cologne. She hated cologne, but this was something else. So fresh, like soap or clean laundry fresh. She hated to admit it, but she liked it.

"You know, _the_ rest of _them_. I-" Her lips parted slightly, her eyes were fixated on the door. After a beat it turned in to annoyance. "You've got to be kidding me."

* * *

"Hello brother." Damon smiled wide as he waved like a five-year-old in Stefan's direction. He wasn't alone, Klaus was in tow, wearing that stupid smirk of his. They walked over and took two seats right at the bar. What in tarnation?

"You literally never come here." Stefan said, very unamused.

"That's nonsense. I was here yesterday." Such a smartass. These days Stefan just felt like punching everyone. He was much pissier than his usual tormented self. Coincidence? Think not.

"And that was enough." Caroline threw herself in to the conversation. Her eyes were shooting daggers at Damon. There wasn't a hint of subtleness in there.

"Extra feisty with a side of hate, just like I ordered. Don't you just adore the way that we despise each other, doesn't it fill you with rapture? Do I sense an attraction here?!"

Caroline rolled her eyes with such force she almost got dizzy. She took a deep breath and forced a cheeky smile. _Be professional, you need this job._

"What do you want Damon?" Stefan was over it and it just started.

"Some of your finest whiskey, for starters and some brotherly love on the side."

"I'll have the same minus the brotherly love, I'm so not used to it, it might put me in a deep state of shock if I ever experience it." Klaus finally spoke, he was very amused with the whole ordeal.

"I know you!" Caroline spoke to him. She bit her lover lip and pondered. Her brows suddenly rose up in realization. "You were there, weren't you? When Damon harassed me."

Both Stefan and Klaus laughed, she was being so dramatic it was getting hilarious.

"Yes. You were quite charming."

"Ha-ha. That's very funny."

"No, I mean it, love. You are a striking girl." The serious tone and the intense eye contact got to her. It suddenly all came back to her. She remembered how intrigued she was by him the other night, but the whole Damon drama messed with her head so much she completely forgot about the British guy.

Stefan's eyes were going between Klaus and Caroline, they just stared at each other and the intensity made Stefan himself feel uncomfortable. _Nope. No. Rebekah, Rebekah, Bex, you love her, she loves you, you shouldn't care._

"Let me get you those drinks."

"Thank you, Stefan." The intense way Klaus pronounced every word has always been so bizarre to Stefan. It was always hard for him to fathom the fact that him and Rebekah were brother and sister. She was so normal, and he was so…unearthly. Sometimes it seemed like the guy was from another planet. Then again, it seemed to work amazingly for him.

"Yeah, he's such a peach, isn't he?" Caroline joked, but this time it only served to fuel his inner fire even more.

"He is indeed. He's going to make my little sister very happy." Klaus pressed on. A shot of guilt immediately went through Stefan, he wanted to look for Caroline's reaction, but he stopped himself.

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked curiously.

"Oh, you didn't know?" Damon interrupted, of course he did. "Stefan's dating Klaus's little sister, Rebekah. Have you failed to mention that, Steffy?"

That feeling of wanting to hurt everyone he felt earlier, all that energy was focused on Damon at the moment.

"It never came up." Stefan said matter-of-factly and avoided Caroline's eyes. Why would he feel guilty, after all? For as far as he knew, Caroline could be married, and Stefan had no idea. The whole thing got to his head way too much and they've only met yesterday. It was kind of crazy to think about it this much. That was his life in a nutshell; overthinking everything all the time.

"Yes, Stefan here is my very best brother in law." Klaus added on. Caroline could sense Stefan being super tense, but she didn't know what to do. So, it was definitely true, Stefan had a girlfriend, none the less, Klaus's sister.

She couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment. She caught herself thinking about him again in that way. She didn't want to give it too much meaning, though. So what? She had a little crush. It happened to people all the time. Bonnie had a crush on their mailman since she was five, doesn't mean they got together in the end. It was not a big deal. People crushed on other people since forever and they got over their crushes just the same.

To be fair, their mailman was a middle-aged chubby man who Bonnie loved because he always gave her candy and Stefan was a heartthrob, but still. She'll get over it. And hey, what a better time to start getting over it than now?

"So Klaus, that accent…where are you from?" Caroline leaned over on the counter and propped her head on her hands. Stefan looked at her weirdly_, did she know they had to work?!_

Yeah, that's what's bothering him.

"I'll tell you all about it, love. If you join us?"

_Great_, Caroline thought to herself. He was in on the whole flirting thing. Success.

"Well, my shift's still not over and we're kind of overflowing with people, but later-"

"Later it is."

She had to give it to him, he was good. His charm and those lips didn't hurt either.

"What are we doing later?" It was an honest question, but the flirty tone of their conversation and her unintentional torturing of Stefan got to her head a bit too much, she got caught up in it. Yeah she was almost sure she didn't care about Stefan's girlfriend or his love life in general, but was it bad if she wanted to make him even a bit jealous? It was a stupid thought, Stefan had no reason to. She was 99% sure she was making a fool of herself, yet she couldn't stop. What was wrong with her?

Caroline smiled back to Klaus and Stefan had to look away. That man was the literal devil.

"Oh, there's so much I could show you, love." Caroline was positively swooning over him…. and that accent? Give me a break.

Stefan had to get away. He pushed his way through the buzzing crowd up to the back exit.

* * *

The cold air hit him and he felt ten pounds lighter. He wanted to punch himself. So much for not thinking about her.

"You guys have a really poor work ethic in here."

"Bonnie!" Stefan's eyes met her. She was clutching her coat to her chest like she was about to freeze. Definitely not used to the New York weather.

"I promised Caroline I'd stop by for a drink." She eyed him for a little bit while he stood there silently "Are you okay?"

"Why are you coming in through the back exit?"

"What? Oh, there's a pretty big crowd in the front and I'm not in the mood for people…like ever."

"Well you're not gonna have a good time in there either."

"Which makes me that more curious about what you're doing outside, leaving poor Caroline in there to fend for herself."

"Oh, I don't think she minds." Bonnie's brows shot up at the semi-bitter tone of his voice. Something went down for sure. These two idiots will end up hooking up by the end of the week and get fired, she was sure of it.

"Well, I'm going in there now."

"Just tell them I won't be long, okay?"

"Sure thing." She was the last person to press on someone when they obviously weren't in the mood, so she figured she'd rather leave him alone with this.

Bonnie walked in through the back, the loud noise and occasional '_hell yeahs'_ could be heard in the main room. Stefan was right, the place was overflowing. It was very strange for Bonnie, back at home any place on a Monday night resembled a graveyard. In fact, you could probably find more people at a graveyard than in a bar like this.

She spotted Caroline and her crazy blonde hair right away, it was kind of hard to miss. Turns out, Stefan's pity party wasn't the last surprise of the evening; Damon was right there at the bar, seemingly downing down some fluorescent liquid like it was water and it looked like they had company. The sight of Caroline and Damon at the same place, not trying to kill each other was enough to make her night.

"You seem to be on a roll."

"Bonners!" Damon's excitement rose at the sight of her. "What brings _you_ to this wonderful dark place?"

"It's more of a who brings me here- "She leaned over the bar and gave Caroline a quick hug, she looked very stressed. "Hi."

"Hey, have you seen Stefan somewhere? I'm losing my cool over here."

"Like you ever had any." Damon immediately responded.

"Stop eavesdropping!"

"Yeah, he's in the back, he said he won't be long."

"What the hell is he doing there now, I need him here."

"And you got him." Damon's eyes followed his brother as he came back and immediately started taking orders.

"That's weird." Caroline said to no one in particular.

"What's weird?" Bonnie asked and took the only available seat, right next to a very pumped Damon. "Ew, what is that?" She eyed the fluorescent liquid that Caroline just topped off for him.

"Keglevich, you should try it, it makes you not care about anything. You look like you could use a whole bottle."

"What are you, fifteen?"

"Hey, is everything fine?" Caroline bumped Stefan on the shoulder to get his attention, he looked completely unbothered.

"Yeah, why?" His hands were going like crazy, he was a machine making all those cocktails, it distracted her.

"I don't know, you just seem, different." She admitted, not wanting to jump around it for too long, they both had things to do and this weird thing they had going on was not helping anyone.

"I'm just doing my job and you should do the same." The way he said it was so cold and unexpected, Caroline literally didn't know what to say. Before she even opened her mouth to make a sound he was off with his drinks and she stood there, dumbfounded.

Bonnie leaned over to Damon when Caroline wasn't looking and tugged on his sleeve to garner his attention. Not that she needed to, as soon as she inched closer to him, a flowery scent filled his nostrils in delight. She smelled amazing.

"Hey, do you think there's something going on with your brother and Care?" Her voice brought him back from his musings. He squinted at her, genuinely looking like he had no clue.

"You guys really suck at picking up signs, don't you?"

"Hey, I'll have you know I'm amazing at picking up signs."

"And you didn't notice anything weird or tense between the two of them?"

"No, but I did notice a great deal of sexual energy Caroline sent my way."

Bonnie looked absolutely horrified at that claim. It didn't help that she couldn't for the love of her figure out if he was being serious or not.

"They only energy Caroline ever sent your way was the one of a cold-blooded murderer to his next victim."

"Thank you- "Bonnie exclaimed and remembered she had no idea who that guy was "-Stranger."

"Klaus Mikaleson. Damon's etiquette is quite extraordinary, especially the part where you introduce people."

"Of course it is, my deeds speak for themselves."

"I'll have to excuse myself for now, duty calls." Klaus put on his coat that looked like it costed more than Bonnie's entire wardrobe. "Caroline- "He called over and she immediately appeared. "- you have my number dear. "Why was he talking like Bonnie's grandma?

Caroline smiled and Bonnie began internally screaming _TROUBLE ALERT_. Caroline wasn't easy, that's for sure, but if there was a bad guy around, she would track him down and let him ruin her for good, it's like she was addicted to making bad decisions.

"So now that we're alone, give it to me." Damon said as he leaned on his hand and eyed Bonnie all over. She was at a loss of words.

"Excuse me?"

"The Stefan and Caroline thing." He said it like it was super obvious. Bonnie mentally scolded herself, of course he was asking for his brother, why would he mean something else? Her own brain made her feel so tired at times.

"Oh-"

"Tell me about Klaus." Caroline slid in uninvited. Damon's lips formed a straight line and his nostrils flared.

"He left because he couldn't stand you anymore."

Caroline gave him another one of her _'You're lucky you're still alive'_ signature looks and returned back to her work. Great, at least someone could take a hint. Damon snapped his fingers at Bonnie, trying to get some information out of her.

"I don't want to talk about it, it was an assumption."

"You don't strike me as a person who just assumes things."

"You don't know me."

"So that isn't true?"

"What isn't true?"

"Everything."

"What are you even talking about?!"

"I don't know, I got confused halfway. Look, man-" He immediately regretted it, he sent her an apologetic look "-I mean woman." Bonnie rolled her eyes to oblivion, _this guy_. "I'm just trying to get some gossip about my own baby brother, is that really so bad?"

"Yes!" Bonnie exclaimed. "And he's not a baby."

"Look at him!" Damon pointed over to a busy Stefan who was totally unaware of anything happening. "Look at that sweet baby face and tell me I'm wrong."

"His cheeks are kinda puffy… Never mind! We're not talking about this, Damon!"

"Well you started it."

"And I'm finishing it."

"Great! Barbie, hit us up! Give me strawberry and Bonzo will have the apple one."

Caroline gave him a look of suspicion, but she was so caught up in her own drama she didn't have time to analyze whatever was going on with the spawn of Satan and her best friend, so she just poured the shots.

"You did not just call me Bonzo."

A bell ringing filled the room along with Stefan yelling "Last call everyone." The place was filled with displeased grunts and clashing glasses. These people really loved to drink it up even on a Monday night. What a wild concept.

"Hey, do you want me to wait for you?" Bonnie asked a very busy Caroline over the counter. She turned around with a sympathetic smile and shook her head.

"No, just go home and rest, you've had a really long day and I'll be stuck here for a while cleaning up."

"You sure?"

"Definitely. Hey, I'll make breakfast again tomorrow and we can talk about your day, okay? I know I missed a lot of stuff."

"And we can talk about our feelings." Damon slurred, he was already super buzzed. Makes sense, he had about 12 of those toxic shots since Bonnie came in and he was here way before her. Caroline dismissed him with a simple wave of her hand and returned her attention to Bonnie.

"Seriously, just go home and rest. I'll be fine."

"I'll take care of Care. Heh- "he started giggling "-Get it? Cuz her name is Care and- "

"You're going home." Stefan finally joined the group. He looked like a strict parent with his hands crossed over his chest and that unrelenting expression he's had for a while now.

"Huh, okay dad." Damon lifted his hands up in surrender.

"I'm getting you a cab." He already had his phone out and was busy getting him that cab. He was pretty used to it, getting Damon home safely was a weekly thing, kind of like a hobby.

"Are you sure he can make it himself, he looks like he can't even sit straight." Caroline commented and Stefan responded with a nod of his head. So what, he wasn't even talking to her anymore? How did things get from being super friendly to this resentful in a matter of 24 hours?

She needed to blow off some steam for sure. Luckily for her there was a bar full of tables for her to clean up. She said her goodbye to Bonnie and promised her she'd get home safe. Stefan pulled Damon up from the bar stool and walked him out where a car was waiting for him.

"Elena called like ten times this past hour." Stefan whispered to his drunk brother on their way out.

"Oh really? What did she want?" He slurred, dragging his heavy feet towards the cab.

"Something along the lines of kicking your ass for being a jerk and not answering her calls the entire day."

"She sounds charming."

Stefan loaded him in and sighed. These last few weeks it seemed like he spoke to Elena more than Damon did. Bonnie appeared out of the bar and stopped to say her goodbyes. Stefan gave the cabbie the address and cab fee, while Bonnie stood there awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot. _Was no one else cold here?_ Stefan was wearing a flannel with rolled up sleeves, she just wanted to put him in a blanket and position him somewhere warm.

"Bye, Bonnie. See you around." Stefan said with a smile and headed inside. The cab door was still opened, Damon was sprawled in the car, his torso taking up the entire back seat with his legs hanging out. _She should help him, shouldn't she? No, no, she had to get herself home._ This drunken fool didn't deserve it, besides, it seemed like this was a weekly thing, he was fully capable of taking care of himself. Was he, though?

Bonnie pondered for a second and sighed in frustration. _Bad idea._

"Move over." She instructed as she walked over to him. She kicked his right leg that was sticking out, trying to get his attention and somehow fold him so he'd fit in the cab in all his glory.

"BonBon? I thought you were Stefan for a minute- "he slurred his words lazily and gave her a sly smile. Another night in a row where she questioned every decision she'd made so far.

"Just get in the cab!"

"I am inside."

"You're sticking out."

The driver gave them a bad look, he was clearly losing his patience, so was Bonnie.

"Get inside before I shove you in myself, and I swear to god, Mother Mary won't be able to unfold you if that happens."

"Just listen to the lady." The driver spoke with a heavy accent and Bonnie gave him a small smile of appreciation.

"Get inside the cab." She leaned in and gave one last warning. Damon finally propped himself up on his elbows and made an effort to skootch over so she could fit in.

"Jesus woman. You are terrifying."

"I know." She said with a satisfied smile and nodded to the driver so they could take off.

"That's kinda hot." He said with a teasing smile as he closed his eyes and rested his head comfortably in the seat. Bonnie gave him a side look but smiled to herself anyway.

"You're drunk."

"Uh and she's smart as well."

"Just shut up."

And he did, he didn't even hear her say the words. His head was hanging to the side as he dozed off in to a drunken nap, snoring here and there, as if to let Bonnie know he was still alive.

* * *

"Today was really busy." Caroline commented, making sure her voice was just loud enough for Stefan to hear her on the other side of the place. No answer, just another silent nod. "Is it usually like this, I mean it's only Monday and it was already so full with people." Another nod. This one did it for Caroline. She couldn't put up with it any more. She angrily put the tray of glasses down on one of the tables and marched over to Stefan.

He wouldn't even look at her so she had to take it a step further. She stood in front of him, sandwiching herself between his body and the counter. She took the note pad that was in his hand and smashed it to the table, looking straight in to his surprised eyes.

"Did I do something to you?"

Stefan took in a deep breath and put his hands on his hips, just staring at her with focused eyes.

"Just tell me. Do you hate me or something? Did you change your mind since we first met because I thought we could be friends. Did I do something so terrible that it came down to you not being able to even look me in the eye the entire night?"

"You didn't do anything wrong." He said, not sounding a tiny bit believable. He was starting to walk away so she grabbed him by his upper arm to stop him from leaving. _Hello Mr. Biceps. Stop it Caroline!_

"No, na-uh, you're not just leaving and avoiding me, we're going to settle this now."

"What do you want me to say, Caroline?" He finally raised his voice, he was so distant the entire time that it actually made Caroline so grateful to get even a hint of emotion out of him.

"Why are you acting so weird? Things were fine yesterday."

"Things are fine now as well."

She was defeated. She sighed sadly and averted her eyes to the floor, admitting defeat. Stefan was positively torn. He didn't want to be a jerk to her, she was the last person to deserve it, but if he let himself go in front of her and acted out on how he really felt, he would get them both in a crapload of trouble. It was much easier for him to get her to despise him now than later.

"I- "He started but cut himself of. In reality, he had no idea what he wanted to tell her. _Hey, I have a girlfriend waiting for me at home, but you are driving me crazy and all I can think about is wanting to kind of, sort of, definitely kiss you?_

"Forget it. Like you said- "She gave him a fake smile and moved away from him. "It's fine."

"No." Stefan finally broke. He took a small pause before speaking again. "It's not, it's never fine when people say that it is. _Fine_ is right there with _I'm okay_ and _Nothing's wrong. _Fine is horrible and I'm sorry."

He had a good point.

"Sorry for what? You're right, we work together. No one ever said we needed to be friends."

"Right."

"Exactly."

"Fine."

"Stop saying that."

"Then, it's okay."

"Okay's even worse!"

"Well, what do you want me to say?"

"I don't know!"

"Make up your mind."

"You're pressuring me."

"Well, you're frustrating me."

"You're frustrating _me_."

"Argh!"

"I knooow."

"Fine."

"Fine."

Stefan picked up his notepad that she so rudely took away and she huffed. She took it back from him and out of his sight.

"I can still see it, it's behind your back, what are you even doing?"

"This isn't over, you are not about to start ignoring me again by pretending to make significant notes in your stupid notepad."

"I beg your pardon? I would never do such a thing. And they are significant."

"You drew a cat!" She accused him as she waved the thing in his face. "It's actually pretty good."

"Thank you."

They were back to ignoring their issues and being playful again. But hey, you take what you can get.

* * *

It was a really slow day for Bonnie. The middle of the week, about two weeks since she started her internship. As insecure as she was, she thought she did really good so far, her check reviews always came out very positive and everyone seemed to be pleased with her work, she even got an extra assignment, helping to organize the weekend gala that was going on this Saturday. She was in the lobby, on her way to lunch when she heard a familiar voice.

"BonBon?"

Bonnie felt chills run down her spine. She couldn't have asked for worse.

"Damon." The look of pure annoyance she gave him was exhilarating. There was something special about annoying people when they were most vulnerable.

"Fancy running in to you here, I must say, the lack of Caroline by your side really makes your eyes pop!"

"Works like a charm, Just like that blackeye of yours, reeealy makes them pop. Well, one of them. Literally."

His mouth stretched in to a tight smile. So that's how she wanted to play.

"It's fading, just like my love for her."

"I can see that." She said and sighed awkwardly. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm meeting a friend for lunch, you know, even us villains have to eat."

"I know that, I just assumed you fed on innocent souls, rather than salads, my bad."

"You've been spending way too much time with Caroline, it's rubbing off on you."

Damon took a pause from his usual provoking self and got all serious, first she's ever seen that happen.

"Thank you for getting me home safe, the other day."

"Damon, that was like two weeks ago, don't even mention it."

Damon nodded, he was about to go but his eyes caught on something in her hand.

"You're going to this?" He asked as he picked up her humanitarian gala flier, that she was participating in, well, assisting Enzo is more correct.

"I kind of have to, I'm working on it, why?"

"Get ready to see more of me then, I'll be there."

Great, like she wasn't feeling enough preassure already. Did he have to be friends with just about everyone and pop up everywhere?

"I'll make sure to blind myself."

"Bye Bonners, see you this Saturday, I'll be the hottest guy there."

_No doubt you will._

* * *

Hi there! I tried doing more dialogues in this chapter oppose to just writing big chunks of text explaining what's happening, I think it flows a lot easier and it's more interesting to read this way. **Do you prefer more dialogue or should I go back to less talking and more descriptive writing?** Please let me know.

Since basically everyone voted against Enzo (poor guy) we will go forward with more Bamon. **What did you think of this chapter? Thoughts, ideas?** Let me know and I might even write it in 😉

One more thing,** would you be interested in me making some gif edits of the scenes from this fic for the tumblr account?** Let me know.

We have a lot of interesting stuff coming up, I hope you're as excited as I am. Thanks for your support. Reading your reviews and PMs is my favorite part of all of this, so don't be shy and talk to me 😊

Check themeetmeatmidnightworld dot tumblr dot com for updates and sneak peeks.


	5. Equal rights part 1

**A/N: I posted this chapter earlier, but I didn't like how it came out, so I rewrote it and made a bigger, in depth and detailed one that makes much more sense, if you already read chapter 5 the first time, some of the stuff will be familiar, but the second half is entirely new and I haven't posted it yet. I would suggest reading all of it, because there are new things in the beginning as well. I apologize, but sometimes it happens.**

* * *

"And by doing so, I strongly believe we will send a perfect message to every person who comes here – no – to every person that was ever treated differently based on their sex." Caroline repeated the text to herself and wrote the thought down on her pad. She heard someone scrambling for keys just outside the apartment. Was it possible that Bonnie was already coming home? She completely lost track of time, it happened very often when she focused on little projects like this one, everything else just didn't matter.

"What the- "Bonnie barely stepped in to their apartment that night and she was already glitter bombed, the place looked like one big glittery hazard. She put her bag down and eyed Caroline. She was perched on the floor, surrounded by posters, cards, colorful paper and crafting supplies. She was extremely focused on whatever she was writing down on a big white poster with a giant red marker.

It read: '_Equality for all. Let's change the norms and get our guys in uniforms.'_

"Um, hello."

"Yeah, hiya there."

"Did you murder a unicorn in here?"

"That's sacrilege in my book."

"What's all this?" She picked up one of the posters from the floor. Caroline continued to aggressively sprinkle the one she was working on with glitter. Bonnie caught a whiff and started coughing violently.

"Sorry- "Caroline finally reacted when she realized Bonnie was choking on her project"-Here, drink some of my tea, it helps dilute the glitter. Trust me…"

"My god Caroline. What is all this?" She asked after she took a sip from Caroline's cup.

"I'm changing the world." She said, fully serious.

"Good job."

"I'm serious, we need to get our voices out there, Bonnie, we need to make a change. You should know that, you're the biggest girl power advocate that I know."

"I still don't understand what all this is about."

"Jackson and his stupid, unfair uniform rule. Don't you think it's a bit condescending that I'm the only one there who has to wear one? It's not right. If they're gonna make me wear that slutty uniform, rest assure I will make them wear an even sluttier one."

"And by them, you mean Stefan? Because Stefan is the only one working there in your shift, right?"

"Him and the other two guys, Taylor and Mike, I think. Haven't met them yet, but I'm positive they would look dashing in a navy skirt and top, it's universally flattering."

Bonnie took a seat on the sofa next to Caroline, she was beyond amused with all the stuff Caroline came up with; there were badges, posters, flyers, an educational booklet and she even made outfit sketches for the suggested uniform she had in mind.

"Care, I might be reaching here, but are you sure this is really about the uniform?"

"What do you mean?"

Bonnie thought about it for a second, she wasn't sure if she was ready to go there.

"Are you sure this isn't just something to punish Stefan with, because of your undeniable tension and you being unable to deal with it." Whoosh, there's no going back now.

Caroline stopped writing and sighed. She didn't say anything, but she didn't look mad either. She had to know what Bonnie was talking about, even though at times naïve, Caroline was one of the most intelligent people Bonnie knew. She was very emotionally stable and always aware of other people and their feelings. There's no way that she missed this.

"There's no point in denying it, you know? I could be wrong but-"

"You're not." Caroline stood up and started pacing around the room. It was only then that Bonnie realized she made over half of their apartment; new furniture was all set up, she put up pictures of her and Bonnie when they were little, Bonnie's college diploma hung there proudly, right beside Caroline's dance school certificate.

"I was so sidetracked by the glitter I didn't even notice the new furniture. Care, you did all of this by yourself?" Bonnie stood up and looked around in awe. She walked over to the frames, inspecting the pictures closely.

"Well it took you a while to notice!" Caroline happily jumped up and joined her. "I started watching Marie Kondo on Netflix when you went to work this morning but as soon as she started talking about tea cups that spark joy I lost it and decided to do it on my own, Caroline Forbes style. You know, with cups that spark passive aggressiveness and scream _'I got this from Ikea for 2 dollars'_"

"I know I give you a hard time with your crafting, but honestly, if it were up to me, we would live with two mattresses on the floor and a toilet."

"I put some stuff in your room as well, you don't have to keep it, but you could highly benefit from it."

"If it's anything like the fluffy goods you put in my room the first time, I'm taking all of it!"

Caroline smiled and went back to her spot between the posters to finish her work. Bonnie mentally scolded herself, she let her avoid the subject of Stefan once again. At times like this, she hated how easily distracted she got.

"Since when does Damon Salvatore leave voice messages for you?"

Bonnie froze in place, her mouth fell agape with no words coming out. She had to be joking.

"I-um-"

"Which brings me to my next question and that is, why does Damon Salvatore have our home number?"

"I know that one!"

Caroline raised her brows at her, waiting for the rest of that answer.

"I gave him our number just in case he got in to trouble again and needed someone to come pick him up, you know, in case Stefan isn't there, or any of his friends…" It only occurred to her how stupid it sounded when she said it out loud.

"And why would you do that?"

"I-" she sighed and gave up trying to make stuff up, she may as well come clean about it "-remember that night when we all came to the bar to check on you and Stefan at work? Well, Damon got very drunk and after Stefan put him in the cab, I kind of went with him and made sure he got home safe."

Caroline dropped all of her crafty things in an instant, her eyes gleaming with interest.

"What?" Her mouth stretched in to a big smile, she looked like a cat who was finally about to eat that canary she's been eyeing for a while.

"Don't look at me like that, anyone would have done that, wouldn't they?"

"Did someone else do it, except for you?"

"Well no, but-"

"No buts."

"He couldn't even sit straight, I couldn't have let him go like that."

"Oh my god, did something happen between the two of you, is that why he's leaving jokey messages for you-" Caroline's excitement was through the roof "- I saw the two of you giggling at the bar that night, but I just thought he was annoying you, but now I totally get it! You were flirting!"

"I speak and words come out but none of the seem to reach any part of your brain."

"You so were! Damon and Bonnie sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-"

"He has a girlfriend."

Caroline's smile turned in to a frown in a matter of seconds.

"Oh."

"I was just being nice, I wanted to help."

Caroline didn't have a response for that, she pondered for a while but gave up on asking any more questions, not wanting to stir the pot. More silence ensued until Bonnie finally broke it.

"What did the message say?"

Caroline tried not to smile but it escaped her lips anyway.

"I saved it for you, so you can listen to it later."

Out of reasons unknown to her, she kind of wanted to do it right now, but she resisted. Damon could wait, that way she could convince herself that she didn't care. Besides, she still had things she needed to straighten out with Caroline.

"Ask me." Caroline said while calmly gathering her papers.

"What do you mean?"

"You've answered my questions, it's only fair I answer yours. You're fidgeting with your hair and you're standing in one spot without moving, like an awkward cat. Just spill it Bennett."

Bonnie sighed and plopped down on the floor next to her.

"Fine." A strong pause, followed by an out of breath: "What's really going on between Stefan and you? Because, I swear it seems like you want to kill each other half of the time, but then, if someone tries to bash the other one you want to kill that person."

"All very true."

"And that night two weeks ago, when we were all at the bar… you can pretend all you want, but I know you noticed how worked up he was over that British guy."

"Klaus?" Caroline said in surprise.

"Yes, him. This Klaus guy was so very openly flirting with you and I'm pretty sure Stefan was over there losing his shit. He went from looking like a cute baby bear to a beast."

"You're overreacting. He doesn't care."

"Okay, let's assume that. Then why are you sad about it?"

"What?"

"You seemed so sad saying that, do you want him to feel like he wants to beat someone up for flirting with you?"

"Bonnie! He has a girlfriend, who is, from what I've heard, practically like his wife. They've been together forever, so don't even go there."

"You and I both know that can't stop anyone from feeling things."

"Even if they feel things they shouldn't?" A small pause.

"Are you feeling things you shouldn't be feeling?" Another small pause, followed by an exhale.

"I _don't_ know."

* * *

"Hit me up." Damon signaled to the bartender.

"Again?"

"Hey, hey! I cam here to have fun, not to be attacked."

"I'm just saying, you're getting shitfaced a lot more than usual and that's saying something."

"And I'm just saying, shut the hell up."

Stefan nodded and took his que. It was always hard to crack Damon and actually talk to him about things that mattered, especially since his relationship with Elena got more serious. Damon was beginning to look like a washed-up version of himself, but at this point, Stefan wasn't sure if Elena was the one to blame. Damon was known for his bad habits and ferocious ways and there seemed to be no slowing down as time passed. The older he got, the harder it was for everyone around him to deal with.

Damon never learned how to deal with pain properly, he was convinced drinking binges and using drugs on occasion solved all of his problems. He found it fun and thrilling. It worried the hell out of Stefan. It worried the hell out of everyone in Damon's life for that matter.

"Mom called." Damon said without looking at Stefan and downed his drink. Stefan didn't have a response, he just sat there fiddling with the sticker he ripped off his lukewarm beer. He hated conversations that started like that, because he knew exactly what followed. "Dad wants you to visit over the weekend."

"That's not gonna happen, you and I both know this, so I really see no point in you bringing that up other than messing with my head."

"Well, you can call mom and tell her that yourself. You don't need me as a messenger."

"Just like our father does?"

"Look Stefan, I'm not telling you to burry the hatchet and run in to his arms, but you can at least visit once in a while, for mom's sake."

"Because she was always such a good, deserving mother. Pretending she didn't know how abusive he was must have really exhausted her."

"Fine, if you want to be like that."

Damon took another sip and narrowed his eyes, at this point he was just staring in to the distance.

"You can at least visit them for Rebekah's sake."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

Stefan still refused to elaborate, either that or he was really as clueless as everyone pinned him to be.

"Rebekah is a dear girl, really, such a sweetheart, but you'd have to be an idiot to assume she enjoys this life that the two of you have right now."

Stefan gave him a warning look, his jaw clenched so tight it could cut through glass.

"She's used to living the high life that the two of you had before your rebellious phase, don't get me wrong, I love rebellious Stefan, that guy has some guts, but I'm a rather diabolic individual. I don't think Rebekah appreciates this whole _'I'm finding myself'_ thing you have going on for yourself."

"She's supposed to love me for who I really am, not the prick I used to be."

"Love is overrated little brother. Besides, I don't think Rebekah ever thought you were a prick back then, quite the opposite."

"I think you're wrong."

"Am I? Because I remember her being very eager to participate in all of the social events our mother laid out for her. She's always been ambitious, that's why our parents loved her for you. Kudos to her for sticking with you, but if you think she's really happy waiting around for you to figure it out, you're blind Stefan. She's only waiting for you because she is convinced you will realize what a mistake this was and take her back to Chicago, where you would take that position dad has laid out for you, and she could go back to enjoying the benefits of being married in to a rich family. Hanging out at brunches and stuff, spending time with Elena and planning our demise. It was always in the card for us, why do you resist it so much?"

"Why don't you resist it Damon? What's happened to you?"

"I grew up, Stefan."

"No, it sounds like you became a coward, Damon. That whole being your father's son, after he's treated you so poorly in the past, it makes me sick to my stomach. That's not growing up, that's giving up."

"You're very daring with your choice of words today."

"And you are very lost, in general." Stefan rubbed his temples, thinking hard of his next words. Talking with Damon on touchy matters like this one was walking on eggshells. "Elena can't wrap her head around the two of you anymore, she's desperate Damon. Contrary to everything you believe in, you don't need to live this godawful life that you hate."

"Nonsense, I love my life."

"I would have believed you if there was an ounce of honesty behind those words. I don't understand where this is heading. You have money, more than you can spend in this lifetime, you don't need whatever he is giving you, you're not his puppet anymore."

"They are family Stefan, one doesn't just cut ties with family."

"What does family even mean to you?"

Silence.

"Is it an abusive father who takes every chance he can to belittle you, call you names, or have your blood on his fists? Or is it a distanced mother, who doesn't bat an eyelash at the abuse happening before her eyes? Is it a brother who doesn't even know you anymore because you threw away everything you once believed in? Is that what family means to you? Because if it does, I want to part in it."

Damon put down his glass and gave his brother a side look. He look devastated.

"You already have no part in it, by your choice."

"Being the older brother doesn't make you smartest, making good decisions and trusting the right people does. Treating them good. Sooner or later you're going to realize that, and I hope, for your own good Damon, that it won't be too late."

"Lunch, Saturday, think about it." He took his stuff and headed out, glancing at his brother once before leaving. The look of disappointment on Stefan's face hurt. His heart hurt for not being able to justify his actions to Stefan, even though every part of his being longed for it.

Except for his father and Damon himself, nobody knew the hold that bastard had on him. The terrifying par was, Damon could do nothing to change it, not if he wanted to protect the people he loved the most, especially Stefan.

* * *

"Yaaay! You're finally here!"

Her curls jumped up and down with her as she clapped her hands excitedly. Jackson stood next to her, his hands on his hips and a very tired look on his face. Stefan gave her a weird look at first but smiled against himself. It was impossible not to, that girl got everyone around her hooked on happiness. He appreciated it at the moment, more than ever. He could use all the happy thoughts he could get after that draining talk with Damon he had the other day.

It was Saturday. His mother had tried reaching him but he let it go straight to voice mail every time. She got Rebekah, though. His girlfriend was more than eager to talk to his mother, much to his disappointment. Even worse, Damon was right, she couldn't let go of the idea that they should go have dinner with his parents. No matter how reasonable he was in his pleads for them not to, Rebekah found a way to contradict him.

"Is this the new way we're greeting each other? Because I'm not sure I'm down for it."

"Caroline here has an idea she wants to present you with." Jack walked over to Stefan, wearing a large badge on his shirt. He leaned over to his side and whispered, "If I were you I'd just go with it, we don't need her feminist activist friends to tear us up if this fails and she gets angry."

"What are you talking about?"

Caroline beckoned him excitedly. She appeared from behind the bar with a big box that had colorful stuff sticking out of it- _and oh my god_\- so much glitter.

"Hi there." Stefan stood before her and smiled.

"We're getting you a uniform!" She said excitedly and jumped up and down. Stefan blinked slowly to check if she was joking. Nope, no, dead serious.

"Like this." She pulled out three papers with sketched out designs on them and put them in his face. "We can make alterations and all of that to see what you feel the most comfortable in."

Stefan took the sketches in and did his best to stay composed. _What in the love of god…_

"What do you think?"

"They- "Jackson gave him a warning look from the other side of the room, mouthing _'be nice'. _"They look grrreat!" That lie was so bad he didn't even convince himself.

"I know that you're a bit skeptic, but -"she waved her pointer finger in the air and smiled so hard her dimples were showing "-this is going to change your mind! Boys, come out!"

Mike, their colleague and fellow bartender came out, followed by Tyler and Stefan had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Mike's 6'5'', 250 pound body was compressed in to a tight navy top with the buttons undone and matching leather shorts, completed with studs and a flashy silver embroidery that read _Sax bar_ right above the crotch. He looked like some creature that jumped straight out of a Magic Mike rendition…on Broadway.

Tyler was no better, only he could actually button up his shirt, but he looked just as traumatized as Mike did.

"See? We match!"

"Someone kill me please." Tyler muttered quietly.

"I don't know, now that I think about it, I kinda like it." Mike said with a smug expression and checked himself out in the large mirror on one side of the bar. The rest of them, excluding Caroline, looked at him like he was mad. "What? Care says the silver makes my eyes really stand out."

"It does, don't let anyone else convince you differently." Caroline said and gave him an encouraging smile, followed by a reassuring pat on the back.

This was the most energized he had ever seen her, she was like one of those Duracell bunnies. Looks like her drug of choice was crafting. All of it amused Stefan very much, until…

"Now go try yours."

* * *

"You should have seen the look on his face, he almost passed out!" Caroline said in between laughing so hard she had tears running along her face.

"That's too much Care, it's too much." Bonnie grabbed her stomach, it hurt so much from laughing she didn't know what to do with herself.

"They all thought I was completely serious, all of them went through with it, none of them dared to say no because I threatened Jackson with a fleet of equal rights advocates, and he got so scared he made them do it!"

"Wait, wait, are they keeping them?"

"We are getting them fitted next week."

"Noooo."

"Yes!"

"I can't believe you actually pulled that off."

"When I pulled out the badges, they realized there's no way around it. Also, Mike was really feeling himself in the one I put together for him."

"Okay, I need pictures of that, they must have looked hideous."

"To be fair, Stefan looked kinda hot in his, but I would never admit that to him, he'd get way to cocky."

"Speaking of…" Bonnie wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. Caroline rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Come on, you promised you'd think about it, you can't keep avoiding this all together."

"Watch me."

"Care."

Caroline looked away and crossed her arms across her chest, she was very reserved when it came to talking about feelings, it made her uneasy. The thing was already blown out of proportion as it is since nothing real ever happened between Stefan and her. Besides, she was perfectly capable of ignoring that little spark of excitement she felt every time they were together, she knew it was fine because she had crushes like that before. She blamed it all on his exquisite physique and boyish charm, she was only human after all.

"You're making it a bigger deal than it actually is, Stefan and I are coworkers. Yes, he's very easy going and yes, I felt an attraction towards him, but so did you with Enzo, and we're not spending time talking about what a big problem that is, you know why? Because it's not. People think other people are hot all the time."

"That's…actually a good point. And you would feel the same way about Enzo if you saw him in person, he's a literal god…"

"Hey, don't you have that thing today? That gala night?"

Bonnie shrugged and stuffed as much of her face with her Lucky charms as laws of physics allowed her.

"I do. It starts at seven-ish."

"That's like 10 hours from now, what are you going to wear?" Caroline asked, her voice laced with pure panic.

"Calm down, I have an outfit."

"What outfit?"

"Those dark blue pants and a blazer-"

"Bonnie Bennett!" Caroline stood in front of her with a bewildered expression and snatched the box of cereal right out of her hand, much to her dismay.

"I was eating that."

"I am so not letting you go out to that wonderful amazing gala wearing stupid pants and a blazer."

"Why not, they're really nice, they match my ballerina flats."

Caroline's eyes just about jumped out of her sockets.

"No, no and no. We're getting you a dress, a really amazing looking, sexy, appropriate dress."

"Caroline, no."

"Caroline, yes!" Her face went back to being excited, this was like prom night all over again.

"It's not that big of a deal, I can look casual, it's not like I'll be there mingling with important people, that's Enzo's job, I'm an assistant."

"Not in that grandma outfit you picked out, you won't. But in my dress and some stilettos, you are going to be so hot everyone will lose their shit! I can already imagine you coming down the stairs, the lights dimmed, everyone turns their attention to you and stares in awe at the beauty that was always there, but they haven't noticed her because she always wore stupid blazers."

"And then she stumbles over the stairs because her roommate made her wear heels that you need a license for, she breaks her neck and wakes up, because you're talking nonsense."

"I'm doing your hair as well-"

"Ca-ro-line."

"And for makeup, I was thinking like a soft smokey eye to bring out your eyes and soft lips, because we only want to play up one feature, you know, keep it classy, but sexy."

"I would rather die, makeup makes my eyes water."

"Bonnie, stop being such a baby!"

"Excuse me?"

"You are a grown ass woman who is going to a very prestigious event this evening, if you don't want to do it for yourself, at least do it out of respect to the people who put you there. This is no longer about you, you represent your firm now, you represent Enzo. Do you want him to look like a shmuck when everyone else is super made up, red carpet ready, and you pull up in your jeans looking like a soccer mom who came to pick up her kids from practice? Get it together woman!"

"I can't."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't pull that off, I'm not you Caroline."

"Stop saying stupid stuff like that, Bonnie, you are one of the most gorgeous girls I know and you are so smart it makes me scared sometimes. Why do you keep putting yourself down all the time? Look around you, you're in New York, you have coffee daily with Enzo St. John, the guy you used to write fan letters to, you're going to a very important gala tonight, with celebrities and stuff. This is your life now. The place where you're at in your life right now…it doesn't allow for insecurities like that. I know you have it in you, but you gotta have a little faith and a lot more punch. You're badass Bonnie, just let it out, let the world finally see it and I guarantee, you won't be sorry."

"Are you like a motivational speaker now?" Bonnie teased and Caroline punched her arm playfully.

"Shut up and go put on your yoga pants of the day, we're going shopping."

"Do I have a choice in this?"

"No, you don't. Besides, we want to make Damon drop his jaw tonight, you know, to make things interesting."

"Caroline."

"I'm just kidding." She said and mouthed _'I'm not really kidding'_ a second after that.

* * *

"You look dashing in that." Rebekah put her arms around him and straightened his tie. "Now, if you would just wipe that frown off your face."

"This frown _is_ wiping it off my face, this is me trying to look pleased about the situation, trust me."

"Stefan."

"I still don't think it's a good idea to do this."

"Relax Stefan. It's going to be okay. Plus, it will make me reeeally happy. Don't you want me to be happy?" She pouted like a sad puppy. Before he could even answer she gave him a small kiss on the cheek and happily bounced off to fix her curls.

"I do." Stefan mouthed to himself.

All of the tension that was building inside of him for days finally came crashing down on him. He was mentally and physically drained. Here he was again, doing the last thing he wanted to be doing. It felt like all those miserable years that led up to his mental breakdown. Constantly doing things to please other people, despite everything inside of him screaming not to.

He hated to admit it, but he just didn't have the heart to refuse Rebekah. Nothing seemed to excite her anymore and it really struck a nerve in him, saddened him even. The fact that the only thing she seemed to be happy doing was the one thing he couldn't hate more was depressing. He was so set on working on their relationship and most of the time she acted like nothing was wrong at all, it was very discouraging. It felt like she didn't understand him at all and she didn't plan to make an effort to change that either.

"Ready?" Rebekah emerged from their bedroom all made up in a new dress and shoes.

"Wow. You look great."

"Your mouth is opening and encouraging words are coming out, but your face disagrees."

"No, no. I really do mean that, you look wonderful. I just, I'm surprised you put in so much effort for this on such a short notice."

She checked herself out in the mirror one more time and proceeded to put on her coat.

"Well, you know how your mother is, she appreciates it when people look all made up. Impressions matter. Besides, I've had this dress forever. But we rarely go out anymore so I didn't really have the chance to wear it."

"What are you talking about, we go out every week."

"Yeah, to bars and takeout places."

"You plan out all our dates."

"It's fine Stefan, just put on your coat and let's go."

They stood there, just staring at each other for a moment. Tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Stefan pursued his lips and nodded in agreement. The evening hasn't even started yet and he was already so over it.

"Just keep them open and look up, it can't be that hard Bonnie!" Caroline was losing her patience. She was always up for a makeover, but Bonnie was a tough one; she hated the eyeliner because it made her eyes water, she couldn't calm down and stop giggling when Caroline was lining her lips because it tickled her, she hated the updo because it made her head hurt because of how hard it was pulled back. She was a handful.

"You're poking me, it's literally right inside of my eye!"

"I'm not even putting it on!"

"Yes you are!"

"Bonnie, open your eyes! It's not even in my hand."

"Oh." Bonnie sighed and gave Caroline and apologetic look "Sorry, I know I'm being a baby, but I really hate it."

"It will all be worth it, I promise."

"I don't know how you do this every day, this is literal torture."

"I could say the same thing about your green smoothies."

"Touché."

"I just need to line the lips one more time and we're done with the makeup."

"Finally."

"I will put all of these in your bag so you have it on hand if you need to retouch anything, and if there's going to be food and you plan on drinking, it will be needed."

"I'll mess it up."

"You can always facetime me, besides, there will be other girls in the bathroom. There's nothing more pure than drunk girls in a public bathroom, it's like this weird vortex to a world where all girls are best friends who would do anything to help you. It's amazing. One time, a girl in a bathroom at the bar offered me her bra because the pokey metal thing broke on mine."

"That's very sweet, but I don't think the chief of finance at Elite would offer me her bra, even if it meant saving my life."

"You never know, prim and polite looking people are the biggest freaks behind the curtains. There, all done, just don't touch it too much and you'll be fine."

Bonnie took a glance at herself in the mirror and gasped. She was positively stunned. She wasn't used to seeing herself all made up and polished, but she couldn't pretend and say she didn't like it. Caroline outdid herself this time, nothing was out of place. The one shoulder silky dress they picked out made Bonnie look and feel like a real life princess.

"Wow, Care-"

"I know!" The blonde jumped up and down excitedly. "You are so going to be the prettiest there, oh gosh, I'm gonna cry."

"Stop." Bonnie said but smiled despite herself. She couldn't take her eyes from her reflection in the mirror. "I'm really glad you made me do this."

"Beats the blazer and pants, huh?"

"It's a close second."

Caroline narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest. She took out her phone and ordered Bonnie to pose, which was received with a very intense eyeroll. After some fussing, she finally managed to snap a normal pic and immediately put it in her favorites.

"Okay, now go, the cab will be here in a minute, you can't be late to this thing."

"Yeah, I know."

"Have everything you need?"

"The ticket is here, my ID, phone, lip stuff, wallet, wet wipes, tissues and...Caroline!"

She took out a shiny squared wrapper and shot Caroline a look.

"Condoms? Really?"

"You never know what might happen! There's going to be a lot of hot people there. Go wild, but you know, be safe."

Bonnie threw the wrapper at her and closed her clutch.

"Not gonna happen, Forbes."

"Mark my words, you will regret not taking it with you."

"This is a charity event!"

"You remember what I said about prim people being wild when handled right?"

"Please stop talking."

"I love you, have fuuun!"

Caroline said as she walked her out and waved. She had that _proud mom_ look written all over her face. The cab was already waiting for her, the driver did a double look and left Bonnie positively surprised. Is that what some girls felt like all the time? She hated to admit it to herself, but she kind of liked the attention, it definitely gave her a healthy boost of confidence.

"Byeee!" Caroline yelled from their window upstairs, waving and smiling like a maniac. You had to love her for her undying optimism. Bonnie smiled back and got in the car.

Thankfully, her driver was not one of those chatty types and her drive went by in perfect silence, just like her socially awkward self liked it. She didn't even want to think about the fact that everyone she worked with and all the reputable people in New York were going to see her like this and she would have to walk down the staircase with everyone's peered at her. She'll let future Bonnie deal with that.

Her phone buzzed in her clutch. She was expecting some more words of encouragement from her overly excited roommate, so when she saw Enzo's name flashing on her screen, anxiety kicked in right away. Did she forget something? Was she late? Was she even going to the right place? What if the gala was somewhere else and she was about to embarrass herself completely and be forced to walk back home in these incredibly uncomfortable but amazing looking heels?

'_I've arrived early to take care of some business, you will be greeted and escorted by the doorman, he will show you where to find me.'_

Bonnie sighed in relief. She typed back a quick message and took in a long breath upon realizing they were in front of the gallery that was hosting the gala. Showtime.

"Bonnie Bennett?" A kind man welcomed her when she stepped out and on to the steps. Just like Enzo instructed, he took her inside to find him. She was in awe, the inside of the gallery was even more amazing than she thought it would be. The dimmed lights and candles everywhere gave the place a very ethereal glow. A waiter passing by offered her a glass of champagne, she considered taking it and downing one on the go, but she was already paranoid about tripping over her dress, even without the alcohol so she politely refused.

"Mister St. John, Miss Bennett has arrived."

Enzo turned around in his very well fitted tux and smiled. He look rather intrigued, so much so, that Bonnie wasn't sure whether he liked the way she looked or not, it made her uneasy. That is, until he broke in to another smile and walked over, kissing her cheek, his hand resting on her forearm.

"Bonnie, I almost didn't recognize you."

She laughed nervously, she kept pushing that loose strand of hair behind her ear to calm her nerves, but it failed to do the trick.

"Is that a good thing?"

"Everything related to you is always a good thing."

Okay, there it was again. She couldn't have made it all up in her head this time. This was flirting, out in the open, serious flirting. The odd thing was, the whole thing was kind of…disappointing? She didn't understand it, she was crushing on him all through her high school and college years, she thought he was the most handsome man to ever grace this earth. But now, that he was actually in front of her, showing her affection, she felt…_nothing_.

Never meet your heroes, they say. And boy are they right.

"Ready to head down, most of the people have arrived, it's about time we make ourselves known."

"About that, Enzo." She bit her lower lip and fidgeted with her purse for a second. "I don't really want to make myself known…I mean, I know this is work related and I will do my job perfectly, without making any problems, but aside from that, I don't really want to bring any more attention to myself than needed, if that's okay?"

"Of course, it's okay. You know, there really aren't many girls like you anymore, Bonnie Bennett."

She nodded, not exactly knowing what to say to that. Enzo smiled mysteriously and thankfully, decided not to press on. She was beyond thankful for that, she was under so much pressure from the whole thing as it was, she couldn't deal with complexed feelings on top of it.

"You go downstairs, I still have some people to greet. It's right down this hall and down the staircase."

"Before I go, I just need to do something, not so ladylike."

"Sure." Enzo said with a very confused expression on his handsome face. It turned to horror when Bonnie took the champagne glass from his hand and downed the entire thing. Making sure not to mess up her lipstick, of course.

"Wow. That was impressive, to say at least."

"Thank you."

She gave him back the empty glass and straightened the posture. She was ready to do this now.

"Bennett." He called after her. "Keep your head up high, you'll miss way too much by staring at the floor the entire time."

"Good advice." She muttered to herself as she found the entrance and the infamous staircase. She took another deep breath and reminded herself once again, _keep your head up high, keep your head up high. _

Without even looking at everyone who was down there and if they were in fact looking at her, or not, she picked up her dress, not to step all over it and started going down. Five stairs down and she still hasn't tripped. Good start!

Halfway down, she finally gathered enough courage to look around and register the number of people. She wished she hadn't, the place was brimming with chatter, men in tight tuxes who looked like they couldn't breathe in them and women in night gowns, not doing much movement as to not ruin their hair/makeup/gowns. One face stood out to her in particular.

There he was, in all his glory, with a smug smile plastered all over his face. Damon Salvatore.

And unlike earlier when Enzo made actual physical contact with her, her heart skipped a little beat.

It had to be the champagne.

* * *

**A/N: That was a long one, and personally one of my favorites, I would love more than anything for you to let me know if you liked it, this is where the story really starts to get interesting and all the characters are starting to get together. **

I would like to respond to the anon that had a problem with reading this fic because the characters didn't seem true to themselves (I usually just PM people with this, but it's an anonymous review). First of all, thank you for your input, I really appreciate it. I think the problem is the fact that this is an AU fic, that has nothing to do with the TVD universe, the characters and the names are the same, but this also means they will be really out of character to their usual selves in the show. The whole point of the fic is to see Bonnie, Damon, Stefan and Caroline unlike their usual selves, so I can actually make this an original story, and not just a copy of TVD. I'm sorry if this doesn't work for you, I really am doing my best to bring them to life and give them personalities of their own, those we aren't so familiar with.

I would like to hear from everyone else as well, do the main characters in this story bother you because they are OC? Would you want them to be just like in the show, or do you prefer them to stay quirky and different like in this fic? Please let me know, it means a whole lot. 😊

What do you think about Defan's problematic family background?

Will Caroline get her way with the uniforms?

Also, does anyone think Bonnie will regret not bringing those condoms with her anyway? 😉

**I am really getting in to this fic and it's mostly because I get so many wonderful reviews and interaction with you guys, I can't tell you how happy and eager to write it makes me, so just know, every review or PM that you send me, it is so appreciated. I will take in to account every suggestion, wish or critic, all you have to do is ask 😊**

I made some tumblr edits for everyone who likes to visualize things they read in this fic, so there's that as well.

themeetmeatmidnightuniverse dot tumblr dot com


	6. Equal rights part 2

"Rebekah dear, you look stunning tonight, did you do something new to your hair?"

Stefan downed the rest of his red wine to stop himself from grunting, he was used to his mother sucking up to people, but today, she was on a whole other level. Rebekah didn't seem to mind, she was way too gullible to read in to their charade and acted like she was on cloud nine.

"I have a new colorist who does an amazing job, she uses natural colors and it really shows. Plus, it's much better for the environment."

"You've always been so considerate."

Rebekah smiled and glanced over at Stefan, she squinted her eyes at his empty glass and exhaled sharply to let him know she wasn't pleased with his lack of enthusiasm. He honestly couldn't understand what more she wanted from him, he was present, he was polite, he was reserved. He just couldn't help but feel absolutely miserable every time he visited home (which was a total of two times in the past three years, including tonight).

His father had barely spoken to him the entire evening, it was very kind of him.

The atmosphere was very tense, everyone could feel it. His mother and Rebekah were leading the conversation with unrelated chit chat about the weather, their har, climate change. Well, Lilian tried, but everyone knew she wasn't really the type of person who was concerned by the melting ice caps. If it didn't interfere with her brunch dates every Saturday and Sunday, it didn't concern her.

His father was giving him very passive aggressive looks since they came, he felt his stare the entire time. One thing that definitely bothered him was how close him and Rebekah seemed, the two even hugged and kissed cheeks when they arrived. His father doesn't hug. Stefan tried not to read in to it, mostly because he was positive it was done purely to annoy him. He understood Max participating in it, but he couldn't for the love of God understand Rebekah's side.

"Stefan, how's your little photography thing going?" His mother asked out of the blue, it definitely caught him by surprise.

He thought about it for a second, never once did she actually care about that aspect of his life when he actually lived at home, especially not when he decided to leave. To be completely honest, he was surprised she even knew anything about that, considering how clueless she was about his and Damon's life with them growing up.

"Are you really interested in that?" Stefan dared her before answering any questions. Lilian gave him an exhausted look across the table and reached for the wine bottle, the second one they were about to finish, and dinner begun only 20 minutes ago.

"I was just being polite." There she was, the rightful Lilian Salvatore he knew and lowkey despised.

"New York has great locations so there's a lot to explore photography wise." Rebekah cut in to save the day. Stefan gave her hand a gentle squeeze in appreciation, no matter the circumstances, it was comforting to know they still sort of had each other's back. She continued rumbling on about the coast and how much she enjoyed doing her yoga outside in the mornings.

Stefan took the opportunity to look at her and thought to himself how long it's actually been since they shared a warm supporting moment like that. New York was tough on them. When they were in Chicago, they never really had the chance to be on their own and figure out how they worked as a couple. It was always them and his family, them and her family, them and their Ivy League school friends. It was easy because they had everything set out for them. All they had to do was follow the very clear unwritten instructions by their parents, do as they were told and act as it was expected from them and they would be fine.

Stefan's decision to break the cycle screwed them over. It threw them off balance and they never quite got their momentum back. They were struggling. She wasn't willing to admit it, no matter how hard he tried to get her to open up to him. It was always a tight smile, a shake of her blonde head and _'It's fine, we'll get used to it'_. He left Chicago to escape the monotone, corrupt life they had planned out for them and somehow, they ended up living it anyway. Uninterested, unbothered, tense and unaware of what was actually going on in the other person's life.

"Have you finally considered getting over yourself and coming back home, to your real life?" His father spoke to everyone's surprise. His deep cold voice still chilled Stefan to his bones.

"You've got to be kidding me." Stefan put down his fork and napkin, rubbing his face with both his hands in immediate annoyance. It was only a matter of time.

"The only joke is the fact that you think this will get you somewhere, it's not a career path, it's a hobby. You're trying in vain."

"And how would you know what trying to accomplish anything feels like? Your wealth is an inheritance, you haven't worked a day in your life to get all of this, it's grandfather's. The only thing you ever had to try for was looking sad at his funeral and keep yourself from clapping your hands in joy."

"Stefan, that's enough." His mother scolded him, literally clutching her pearls.

"You've obviously never heard of the expression _'Work smarter, not harder'_. The bastard was old enough anyways, he'd done nothing with the firm, I made it what it is today." He spoke, anger rising inside of him.

"Am I the only one hearing this." Stefan looked around him angrily. His mother and Rebekah sat there quietly. He switched his glance to his mother, pleading her with his eyes to react. "He is talking about your father, how can you let him do this? Do you have no sense of what's right and what's wrong anymore?"

"This little fit of rebellion will get you nowhere, Stefan." His father cut in before she could even speak.

"Max, you promised! We're not doing this again!" His mother immediately spoke back, her voice was shaky, you could sense how distressed she was. Stefan wondered if Max started taking it out on her as well. The thought made him sick to his stomach.

"No, no. Let him, I want to hear if he has anything new to say or if it's still the same old broken record."

"Stefan, don't." Rebekah intervened as well. Both women looked at each other, urging the other to say something and stop this, but both of them were aware it was to no avail.

"I still to this day cannot fathom what went inside of your head to fail us like that. You were supposed to be the successful one, I had hopes for you, boy."

"What you hoped for was a minion, not a son. Like the one you're trying to make out of Damon, but I still have hopes for him, it will dawn on him sooner or later that being on boar with you means sinking."

"I gave the two of you everything!"

"You know what, I'd be furious with you if this wasn't exactly what I expected."

"Stefan, sit down!" Rebekah grabbed him by his hand when he stood up, fully ready to leave.

"Max, stop this, you promised."

"Stay out of this Lilian! If you raised them any better you wouldn't have two excuses for sons now. A fucking bartender and the other one a raging alcoholic."

"So all of a sudden they're just my children?"

"We would have been better off alone." Stefan interfered and gave Rebekah a stern look. What was with her, why wasn't she leaving with him. "Let's go." He urged her one more time, taking his hand out of her firm grip.

"For the love of God Rebekah! Just tell him already!" Max yelled out and smashed his hand on the table, startling everyone. Silence filled the entire room, it felt colder than it ever did before.

Stefan felt his gut twisting. He put his hand on Rebekah's shoulder, urging her to look at him, but she refused.

"Tell me what?"

She stood up and sighed nervously. His parents stared at them, making him ten times more tense. He could feel Max's stare cut right through him like a sharp knife.

"Tell me what?" Stefan raised his voice and she finally looked up from the floor and right at him, her eyes were filled with shame.

"Please don't be mad."

Stefan's eyes widened at her, _what the hell did she do_?

"She took the assistant position at my law firm, Stefan. The you so profoundly and repeatedly refused. She's not just pretty, she also has a brain."

She looked at him in panic and started rambling something, talking at the speed of lightning to try and justify herself.

Stefan hadn't heard a single word. It was pitch black in his mind.

The loud sound of her heels clicking on the pavement as she was chasing after him was the next thing, he remembers hearing. Her panicked voice was like nails on a chalkboard. God, he couldn't even get himself to look at her.

"You have to understand me, I needed a job, this is going to be good for us Stefan, we can go back to the way things were, you and I both know this New York thing isn't working out."

He sped up, trying his best to drown out her voice. He finally reached his car and forcefully shut the door behind him, the key was in immediately, not for a second did he think about waiting for her. When she realized he wasn't going to, she came up to his side and started banging on the car window, trying to get him to open up, or at least roll it down.

"You can't just leave now, we have to talk about this."

_They have to talk about this?!_ She betrayed him in a way that was worse than he could ever imagine, making every single decision by herself, knowing fully right how negatively it would affect him and doing it anyway, and now she wants to talk?

"You want to talk?" He forcefully opened the door and straight out yelled back at her. She took a step back, frightened. Stefan wasn't the one to lose his temper, but everyone had their boundaries. It only hit her how much she really messed up when she saw the hurt in his eyes, the darkness in there haunting her.

"Talk! Tell me how it is that out of all people in the world, you were the one who stabbed me in the back? Talk Rebekah, you wanted to sort it out, go ahead!"

She just stood there shaking. Her face was messed up from thick layers of mascara mixed with tears strolling down her puffy cheeks. Her chest was heaving, she couldn't find her voice.

"I should have known from the minute you started forcing me to come back."

"I wanted the best for us."

"In what world is going back to the worst time in our past making it best for us?"

"That's not how I see it! We were happy here. We had a plan, we had a future together. Just think about it, think about how great it can be. I know he'll take you back as well, he told me he would."

Stefan positively felt like his insides were going to explode from rage.

"Listen to yourself, who are you right now?"

She kept on pressing like some brainwashed version of herself he even forgot existed. Turns out it never went away, she'd just gotten very good at suppressing it.

"It could get better, I know it could. We could even get married here, start a family. Just like we always talked about." She tried to take a hold of his hands but he backed them out of her reach instantly.

"How can you be even thinking about all of that after everything that's happened? What is happening with you?"

She took a step back, her shoulders dropping in defeat.

"I can't do this anymore, Stefan." She cried out, surprising both of them.

"I swear to god I tried. I tried to be supportive, I tried to follow you and your dreams, be patient as I can be. I tried to be there for you, but I can't do it anymore. I can't go back to New York and pretend like we have a future together there when we don't."

She started pacing around frantically, it seemed like she was on the verge of a break down. He should have seen it coming. The whole distancing herself from him, being away from home, finding nonsense hobbies she didn't even like just to escape their apartment, sparking with joy every time someone mentioned Chicago. Damon was right all along; she never got used to it, she never wanted it to work out for them, she wanted for him to go through his phase, fail miserably and come back to his father, begging for mercy. Damon was right and it broke his heart.

The thought of her suffering in silence this entire time, despising him for everything and sleeping in the same bed as him every night, made him sick.

"I hate it! I hate the life that we have, I hate myself for going for it and most of all I-" Her hands balled in to fists that she brought up to her face in frustration "I hate you for making us do it in the first place."

As soon as she said it her jaw dropped, her eyes widened in shock at her own words and she quickly covered her mouth with both her hands, starting to cry even more.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I don't hate you."

But it was too late.

He was back in the car, this time with no intention of getting out.

"No Stefan, stop!" She banged on the window frantically as he started the engine. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it….I didn't mean it!"

He kept speeding up until he could no longer see her shaking frame in the rearview mirror. He didn't know where to go or what to do, all he knew was that he wanted to drive far, far away. To just go somewhere where he was completely alone and scream in to the abyss. To disappear.

His phone started buzzing in his pocket, he ignored it the first few times, but the person was persistent. It was probably her, trying to text her way out of guilt with more lies. The phone buzzed one more time, driving him absolutely insane to the point where he had to take a look at it.

Three missed calls from Damon and a text he was not about to open. The devil works hard but his family works harder in spreading the word of yet another unfortunate event going down between them. He disabled the calls and started his playlist instead, playing it as loud as he could. His head was thumping along with the bass, it was so loud he felt like his head was going to explode, but it was exactly what he needed at that moment. He just kept driving and driving till the cries and the screams disappeared and his head was completely blank.

* * *

"Well, well. I almost didn't recognize you without that annoyed expression on your face Bennett, you certainly clean up well." Damon said as he eyed her from head to toe, this was definitely not the type of situation she imagined the two of them being in.

"You've only just opened your mouth, so you didn't have a chance to annoy me just yet but I assure you, the expression you're looking for is coming."

"There she is."

She took in his appearance and offered him a small smile, her eyes already scanning the room for more champagne, she was so going to need it.

"You're not so bad yourself."

"I've got to say, this is some quality small talk."

"Would you rather discuss The Middle East Crisis?"

His brows furrowed and he scoffed, she was quick with the comebacks.

"Would you?"

She squinted at him and shook her head. She looked around once again, her nerves were acting out to the fullest. She couldn't relax because she was on a lookout for Enzo. The only thing she knew about her job here was that she needed to be there and do anything Enzo asked her to do in order for this thing to go by perfectly smooth.

"As much as I appreciate the pointless chat we're having right now, I'm actually here to work and I need to go find Enzo or else he's going to kill me."

Damon raised his brows in surprise, his lips slowly opening to talk.

"Enzo? Enzo is your boss?"

He couldn't hide his surprise, especially after the talk he had with the man in question just the other day at Elite, the very day he ran in to Bonnie. The guy couldn't stop gushing about this amazing intern who just started working there, Damon's never seen him that excited. In fact, Enzo couldn't be less interested in interns prior to this. It never occurred to Damon it could be Bonnie.

"Yes, you know, they guy who organized this whole thing, who else would it be."

"Interesting."

"Why did you say it like that?" Bonnie snapped at him, why did he always have to act like a Disney villain?

"Like what?" Damon pretended to be clueless.

"Like you just realized something groundbreaking and I haven't picked up on it yet."

"Don't you have work to do, stop chatting me up."

Bonnie gasped in feigned shock.

"Fine." She lifted the ends of her dress, not wanting to trip over the hem when she was trying to be cool. "Asshole." She mumbled to herself as she walked pass him.

"I heard that."

"That's exactly how words are supposed to work, you say them out loud and people hear them. Congrats! You've nailed it." She didn't want to turn around and face him to make a point, but the quiet little laugh from the back of his throat was all the satisfaction she needed.

She bee lined through the gallery for a while, it was exceptionally hard to find a dark haired man wearing a black suit in a huge room full of hundreds of dark haired men wearing black suits. She was on the brim of giving up when she felt someone touch her shoulder lightly, urging her to turn around.

"Oh, there you are!" She said with relief, as much as she enjoyed getting all dressed up and wearing pretty sparkly things, the job part of it was a nightmare, she felt more tense and stressed out at this gala than she felt the entire time she interned at Elite put together.

"This is the updated schedule for tonight, they've switched out two speeches and one of the donators had an emergency so he won't be able to attend, you need to go inform the orchestra and the coordinator, we will incorporate five more minutes of classical music in place of that speech."

Bonnie looked over the schedule and nodded, making a mental checklist in her head.

"Got it, inform everyone, take care of the extra five minutes, come back with a confirmation?"

Enzo nodded in agreement.

"Oh, before you leave." The corner of his mouth lifted upwards, his eyes looking at someone behind her. "I want you to meet someone."

She turned around fully expecting to see another tired-out CEO doing their best to look interested even though they'd rather be at home petting their cat and doing a crossword puzzle. Damon. Again? Was he following her? She was almost a 100% sure he was doing it because he knew how nervous she was, and he wanted to elevate that. Making people feel uncomfortable was his kink. She rolled her eyes in annoyance and started to speak but he cut her off by extending a hand and smiling politely, throwing her off.

"Damon Salvatore, Enzo's friend and one of the donators, you must be his new intern."

He had to be joking. Was this an inside joke him and Enzo had planned out just to mess with her? If it was, it was very mean, and she wasn't humored by it. Her eyes scanned Enzo then Damon, no laughter, no smirks, no smug looks.

"Bonnie." Enzo's voice brought her back. She shook her head and extended her hand to shake Damon's, the corner of his lips twisted. That man was a living, breathing enigma.

"I'm sorry, I got distracted." She gave Damon a toothy, threatening smile. "I'm Bonnie, Bonnie Bennett."

"Nice to meet you Bonnie." They've been shaking hands for way longer than a regular handshake lasted, Enzo must have thought they were being weird as hell. She took her hand back and clutched the schedule closer to her chest, feeling very uncomfortable.

"Bonnie's been doing a wonderful job with our marketing department since she came on board, in fact, she did all the marketing for this gala."

"Oh." Damon pretended to be interested, his eyes never left Bonnie's and she couldn't take hers away either, she was pulled in, wanting to know what was going on in his mind. "That's impressive, especially on such a short notice."

"Well, I'm still learning." She decided to just go with it, making a scene would only make the whole thing even more weird than it already was and she didn't want Enzo to pick up on the weird vibes, she was just starting out. Making a good impression was crucial at this point.

"So humble." Okay. He was definitely doing all of this just to annoy her, she was sure of it now. She narrowed her eyes at him, all she wanted to do was wipe that stupid smirk off his face. Messing with her on her big night career wise, not cool.

"Damon and I are in the middle of discussing a new project. Actually, this might be reaching a little bit, but I think you could be a great asset on our part of the deal."

"Please elaborate." Damon's interest piqued. Bonnie was too annoyed with him to even register Enzo's words. She kept burning imaginary holes in Damon's body with her eyes. That idiot will probably mistake it for flirting.

"Obviously we're keeping Bonnie for the long run-"

Now, that one caught her attention for sure.

"You are?" She cut him off, not being able to hide her excitement.

"Bonnie, dear, do you see any of your four fellow interns at this gala?"

She shook her head no, a huge smile was creeping on her lips, making her entire face light up. Damon couldn't help but smile as well, it was contagious.

"And that's for a reason. You took charge of everything right from the beginning, you were the most prepared, willing to work at home and overtime, honestly, making it official is only a technicality at this point."

"I don't know what to say." She was so overcome with emotions she didn't think for a second before she stepped forward and put her arms around him, hugging him gratefully.

Now Damon was the one feeling uncomfortable, it was such a rare thing for his pranks to backfire and make him feel like he was the third wheel. It was all fun and games until it wasn't. He cleared his voice to make the two of them break their hug and gave her a quiet _'congratulations'_. She noticed the shift in his behavior immediately.

"Moving on." Damon snatched another glass of champagne from the waiter passing by. "You said we could benefit from having her participate in the project. How?"

They were interrupted by the ringing sound echoing through the gallery. Bonnie's eyes widened a bit, she was so over the moon with the whole getting the position thing, she forgot to do her actual work that she was here for.

"Enzo, it's time for your opening speech!" She alerted him. "They are about to announce you right now."

"I'm on it." He ran a hand through his hair, smoothing out everything to perfection and waltzed over to the stage, immediately sharing a laugh with the coordinator who announced him. The whole room seemed delighted with him, he was definitely the crowd's favorite. Bonnie doesn't remember ever reading a bad thing about him in the press, which is almost impossible in today's society. He was charming, charitable, smart and witty.

Damon was unusually annoyed by his very presence and it had everything to do with one Bonnie Bennett. It was something that was visibly bugging him, even though he had no intention of admitting it. He stirred around what was left of his bubble-less champagne and shifted from foot to foot, blending in with the rest of the crowd who gathered around to hear the speech. Knowing Enzo, it was going to be absolutely perfect.

Bonnie stood next to him biting her lower lip nervously. She inched towards Damon, her hand lightly touching his forearm.

"Do you think he's going to do good? It's really important this entire evening is a success."

Damon took a while to answer, he was still processing the sudden closeness of the two of them. One minute she seemed like she was ready to bite his head off and the next one she was leaning in to him, talking to him like they'd known each other for years. It was always when she was unaware of herself that she let go, he wished she let herself be more raw and true to her nature all the time.

"Enzo? Of course." He nodded nonchalantly. No matter how annoyed he was for his own selfish reasons, he couldn't be selfish and unfair to Enzo, not when he had been there for Damon even when he least deserved it.

"You sound very sure of yourself."

"I'm not. I'm very sure of him."

Bonnie looked at him and smiled gently. She tuned in to the speech, holding her breath all the while, like she was the one up on that stage. Damon understood exactly what Enzo saw in her workwise, her work ethic was impeccable, she gave herself in 110% and left no room for mistakes. She was exactly the kind of person you wanted for that position, bold but careful, innovative but who knows how to respect tradition, hands on and laid back at the same time. It was all about balance, something very little people knew how to pull off right. He wondered if it was the adrenaline and all of it being new or if it was just the way she was. Aside from her work ethic and her being very close with Caroline, he didn't know much about her, she didn't seem like the person to share easily either.

"How long have you known Enzo?"

"Actually, we went to college together."

Bonnie's eyes widened, she never expected to hear that from Damon, he seemed like a very laid-back type of person, not the academic type.

"I didn't know that. I had no idea you were the business type."

"I do own my business, you know."

"Yeah I know, I just always thought-" she stopped herself and pressed her lips tightly before saying something inconsiderate or stupid.

"That it was all my family's doing."

Bonnie shook her head no, trying to clear it up but Damon put up a hand and chuckled.

"It's fine, it is also true."

Bonnie stopped trying to explain herself and resonated with a small _'Oh._'

"You know, the difference between Enzo and I is that he actually finished it on his own, unfortunately I was too busy partying to do that."

Bonnie thought about it for a minute, trying to salvage something good out of it.

"At least you gave it a go, some people don't even try and settle for less."

"Are you really trying to make my father bribing people for my degree and giving me a job without any credentials sound like a noble thing to do?"

Her lips parted but she didn't have a clue what to say.

"You really are a people pleaser, aren't you?" He teased.

"I am not a people pleaser, I'm just prone to giving people the benefit of doubt." She explained herself. Enzo's speech was coming to an end, but they were both too indulged in their conversation to notice.

"And they always disappoint you, don't they?"

"Sometimes, yes. But not always. It only takes one good person to prove you wrong for everything else to be irrelevant, you know."

The crowd started clapping and cheering, urging them to break out of their discussion and come back to the real world where Enzo had just finished his speech and the orchestra was playing _Fly me to the moon._ Enzo was surrounded by people the minute he left the stage, Bonnie realized she hadn't even listened to him, but judging by the ecstatic crowd, he did very good.

Bonnie smiled and swayed to the music lightly. It was the first time tonight that she seemed somewhat relaxed. Damon took her glass out of her hand and put it next to his on one of the high tables placed around the gallery. She gave him a confused look, ready to protest about him ridding her of the only thing that brought her joy at the moment - very expensive alcohol!

He reached down for her hand, catching her completely off guard. Her breath stopped in her lungs, her heart racing like crazy at the proximity.

"Dance with me Bonnie."

The way he said it implied that it wasn't a question, it felt like dancing with him was exactly what she had to be doing and anything else was not nearly important enough."

"You know how to dance?" She raised her brows in amusement.

He smirked at her, leading her on to the dancefloor that was already filled with twirling couples in beautiful gowns and tuxes.

"Bonnie, please. I've had a cotillion dance every year since I was 13, knowing how to waltz was a right of passage in my world."

He twirled her with ease and brought her back in to his arms steadily. They swayed in the rhythm of the music. For a moment Bonnie forgot where she was or what she was supposed to be doing. It was the first time she noticed how crazy blue his eyes were, unexplainably dark but so bright at the same time. They fit his personality perfectly. He twirled her one more time, this time dipping her as well, earning an amused chuckle.

"Very impressive."

"Thank you, you're a good dance partner, for one, you're not stiff."

"Well, this dress is very restrictive movement wise but somehow it works. You lead really well."

"BonBon, look at us, turns out all I needed to do for you to be nice to me was ask you to dance. It opens a vortex to a world where we don't want to kill each other and can actually have a normal conversation."

"You spoke too soon, we've only been dancing for half a song, and you're rushing. This is a slow song."

"It's bouncy."

"Frank Sinatra doesn't do bouncy."

"He doesn't do funeral songs either, move it along, grandma." He picked up the pace, bringing her closer to him so she could follow. She felt tingling down her spine when his hand brushed over the small of her back that wasn't covered by the dress. He seemed to pick up on that.

"You okay?" He asked, a teasing smile playing on his lips. "You seem a little jumpy."

She narrowed her eyes at him, pursuing her lips. "Your hands are cold."

He smiled knowingly and nodded. "Sure they are."

She relaxed in to his arms, surrendering to the moment and enjoying it to the fullest. None of her fears came true and so far, the night was a great success. She even made progress with the James Dean lookalike extravaganza. He presented himself in a completely different light than she was used to. She constantly had to remind herself she didn't really know him all that well and she had no right to judge him based on what little information she had.

Her relaxed expression suddenly changed as she felt something firm press against her leg, causing her to not so gracefully jerk away and elbow the elder lady who was dancing beside them.

"Oh my God, I am so sorry." She apologized to the distressed woman who gave her a warning look and danced on. Bonnie furiously turned around to face Damon, to find him looking back with an evil grin plastered over his face. He reached in to his pocket to wave a vibrating phone in to her face.

"Relax, it's a phone. What did you think it was?"

She blushed with embarrassment and sighed, refusing to answer. She crossed her arms across her chest, completely furious with him.

Damon answered, greeting the caller, his eyes never leaving Bonnie. This was all very entertaining to him. She could see a pattern; her embarrassment equaled his amusement.

Damon's expression suddenly changed from playful to serious in a matter of seconds. His jaw tightened, his eyes taking on an even darker hue than before. He quickly apologized to Bonnie, going past her as he disappeared in to the crowd, leaving her there without an explanation.

She turned around as quickly as she could, trying to get a word out of him, but he was already gone. The crowd was filled with men who looked exactly like him, it was a sea of black tuxes. Spotting him seemed nearly impossible, so eventually she gave up.

* * *

"Promise me you want do anything stupid, brother."

Stefan nodded even though Damon couldn't see him over the phone.

"Don't worry, I'm not that fucked up and I don't intend to be."

"Call me if you need a ride home."

"I'll be fine."

"Oh, I know, I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about the car. It's a great car."

He managed to get a chuckle out of Stefan which seemed nearly impossible just moments ago. Brothers, your worst nightmare and best friends for life, at least that's how it was in the Salvatore household. Stefan hung up and leaned back, closing his eyes for another moment, doing his best to calm himself.

He was parked in front of Sax, it was around closing time, and everyone should be gone soon enough. Tyler was supposed to close for the night and he always liked to leave the place as soon as possible, cleaning everything he could while the people were still there so he could be gone out the place the second his shift ended.

He sat around in his car, blasting loud music for a while longer, trying to clear his head as much as he could considering everything. Rebekah was relentless with the calls, she even got around to call Damon when Stefan refused to give her the attention. He was absolutely torn. He had felt heartbreak before, but it never really came as a shock. This however, felt like a personal attack in the most back stabbing way possible.

He didn't have a solid plan, but he knew he couldn't go back to his apartment. She was there, waiting for him, ready to suck the rest of his blood out. He didn't have the energy to even think about her anymore, let alone talk to her. So he came here, the only place he could think of that could offer him some peace…and lots of alcohol to drown his sorrow in.

As soon as he saw Tyler lock the front and happily bounce off, he picked himself up and scrambled for his own keys. He decided to leave his phone behind for good measure.

It seemed as though Tyler forgot to turn off one of the lights behind the bar, the entire place was being dimly lit by a single bulb of light. _How perfect_.

He locked the door behind him, immediately relaxing at the feeling of being alone with his feelings, no thumping music to distract him and no vibrating phone in his pocket. _Pure relief._

He walked over to the bar, setting his keys down.

"Did you forget something?" A small voice came from behind the counter, scaring the living shit out of him.

"Jesus Christ!" He exclaimed, his hand immediately reaching for his chest. The figure behind the counter moved around and popped her blonde head up.

"Stefan?" Her blonde eyes expanded to the size of saucers. "I thought you were Tyler, what are you doing here?"

"For one, being scared to death by you. What are_ you_ doing here?"

Caroline picked herself up from the floor, her hands full of colorful stripes that hung around the bar for the past few days to commemorate her unfortunate uniform protest.

"Jack is no longer supporting my protest so he made me come over and clean it up, Tyler wanted no association with it so I had to come after hours and remove everything. But for the record, I'm going to keep trying. I just need a new approach."

Stefan was amused and genuinely sad for her, she had that innocence to her that he found completely adorable. No matter what happened, nothing could stifle her spirits, he really admired that.

"The trend didn't really catch on, huh?"

She sighed and shook her head no, her eyes shooting up to the celling as she proceeded to explain what went wrong.

"A lot of guys that came in saw Mike in his uniform and thought he was a Drag Queen and that this has turned in one of _those_ types of bars."

"Well, even though I think the embroidery over the crotch was a nice touch, I don't think our regular guests are that fashion forward just yet."

She rolled her eyes at his teasing and gave him a small smile despite herself. "Shut up."

She stuffed the ribbons in one of the boxes scattered around the bar area, there was still a lot of work to do, she was very generous with the decorations.

"You still haven't answered why you're here." She gave him a look from the corner of her eye. He looked roughed up, the most tired she had ever seen him, which spoke volumes since they've worked many night shifts together over the course of last few weeks.

"I-" he stalled for a second. "-I had a pretty rough night. I came here for some peace and quiet."

"Aaaand you run in to me, the living breathing opposite of anything peace and quiet related."

She started stuffing the decorations in to the boxes much quicker, causing the glitter to go everywhere, making an even bigger mess.

"Which is why, I'll clean this up real quick and make myself scarce."

"Caroline." He said calmly and reached over, putting his palm over hers to stop her from moving so quickly, it caught her off guard, her heart started racing at the physical contact. It was small but genuine. "I don't need you to leave, please, if anything I should leave."

"N-no-" She stuttered and shook her head. "I don't need you to leave either."

He nodded and removed his hand. She immediately missed the warmth.

"Then at least let me help." He stood up and took off his coat. He was wearing a black, perfectly tailored suit that probably cost more than her and Bonnie's rent. It was very different from his usual dark jeans and flannel shirt combo. Damon mentioned something about them being sickly rich, she wondered if his bad mood was caused by some kind of family drama.

She caught herself staring at him and tried her best to look away, failing in the process. His suit jacket was off as well, leaving him in that tight white dress shirt and a tie. He had to be working out, no one was born that well defined. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing perfectly sculpted forearms. Her mind immediately wondered how they would feel around her waist if he picked her up right there and pinned her against the door.

_Whoa. Did she really just think that? What was wrong with her?_

He slid behind the bar, brushing her side in the process. Caroline wanted to jump out of her skin.

"Here, let me get that." He took down the ribbons that were far out of her reach and put them away. His attention fell back on her. His eyes focusing on her, while hers were staring in to the distance.

"Caroline?"

His voice brought her back, her cheeks were getting even more rosy than before, she was an open book.

"Are you okay?"

_Yeah, I'm fine, just fantasizing about you ravishing me on the counter, that's all. _

"I am." She said cheerfully, trying her best to stop this nonsense going on inside of her head. "I just thought of something I need to take care of…in the back. I'll be right back."

She faked a toothy grin and left to the storage room as fast as her feet would take her. She closed the door behind her, going straight to the bathroom area and opening the tap. She wet her hands with icy cold water and put them over the back of her neck to cool herself down. How stupid could she be? Her brain chemistry seemed to have worked in a way where she would only get attracted to guys who were way out of her reach.

This was worse. She was very well aware that he had someone else and on top of that he seemed to be in a very vulnerable place at the moment. Not to mention the fact that they were coworkers and they had to face each other literally every day.

She even contemplated calling Bonnie when she felt madness taking over her but decided not to. It was her big night, definitely not the time and place for Caroline's boy problems.

She took a few deep breaths and gave herself a mini pep talk before heading out. He was on the other side of the room, taking down the rest of the posters that hung around the place. She decided it would be for the best if she kept her distance and finished up behind the bar so she quietly did so.

"If it makes you feel any better, I think you were right about the whole thing." He spoke as he kept cleaning up. "It's very wrong of everyone to make you wear those degrading two pieces of fabric while the rest of us are able to work in whatever we feel comfortable in. I think you should just do your thing and stop wearing it, if Jack gives you a hard time the guys and I will have your back, guaranteed."

Caroline was genuinely moved. She clutched the poster she was holding closer to her chest and gave him a small but appreciative smile. No matter what went on in his personal life, he was always so sincere. She was so used to people simply being assholes that any little act of kindness left her disarmed.

"Thank you, for saying that."

"Besides, Mike was getting a little too confident wearing his. Can you believe that he actually told me to '_sashay away'_ yesterday?"

Caroline burst in to a fit of giggles. The air around them lightened up again, she was immensely thankful for that. She wasn't sure how much more repressed sexual tension she could take.

She figured they could both use a break and some lightening up. She walked over to him with a determined look and took his hand in hers, leading him to the bar.

He was visibly confused with her sudden change of attitude but went with it anyway. She ordered him to sit down on the stool while she went behind.

Caroline turned off all of the main lights and turned on the smaller ones that framed the counter, the alcohol shelves and some of them hung from the ceiling, making the whole place seem much more relaxed and warmer.

He patiently waited for her to finally face him and explain what was happening. She turned around with a big smile and propped herself on one hand casually.

"It's Saturday night, technically, it's already Sunday, taking in to consideration that it's a good hour past midnight. We've had a hectic week at work, meaning we worked our asses off. What _we're not_ going to do is work some more because a) this place already looks tidy enough and b) we deserve a break."

She turned her attention to the alcohol shelve behind her, her fingers lightly touching the bottles as she went from on to another, deciding on which one to pick out.

"What we _are_ going to do is drink."

Stefan opened his mouth but she cut him off before he could protest.

"It wasn't a question, Saint Stefan, so pick a poison of your choice or make yourself scarce."

The energy between them switched once again. He leaned a bit closer, she showed no signs of hesitation, still holding her stance by the shelf.

"Is that a threat?" He asked boldly.

"Sure is." She said confidently. "So which one is it going to be?"

He thought about it for a second. Going home to his miserable life and spending the entire night fighting Rebekah or staying here, getting drunk on good liquor and having good company.

"Bourbon."

She smiled, satisfied with his answer.

"Excellent choice. Jim Beam or the Four Roses one?"

"Jim Beam on the rocks."

To hell with it, it was his intention to come here and get completely hammered anyway. Maybe some company wasn't a bad idea, that way he won't be able to get inside his own head and feel even more fucked up than before.

She complied and got the bottle, two bourbon glasses and filled them with ice before pouring over a generous amount of the brown liquid. Caroline took a sip of hers whilst Stefan downed his in one big gulp. Her eyes shot out in surprise.

"Okay." She said as she reached for the bottle and poured him another.

"Told you I had a rough night."

"We don't have to talk about it."

"Good. Because I'd rather not."

"I can see it on your face."

"Is it really that obvious?"

"Kind of, yeah." She made a face as she attempted to down the rest of her drink. "How do you do that without even blinking, this stuff burns."

"Years of practice I guess." He said and broke in to laughter. She gave him a puzzled look. "That's so not true, actually I barely ever drink. And yes, it burned like hell but you gotta play it cool."

Caroline snorted, he was such a dork.

"You know what this place is missing?" He said as he poured them both another drink. "Some music."

He got up and walked over to the jukebox that was easily her favorite thing about the bar. It made the whole place feel more homey for her because it reminded her of the Mystic Grill. As much as she was eager to get the hell out of there, she still found herself missing it at times. Something as simple as the familiar sound of a jukebox was important to her, it made the process of adapting to her new life way easier.

She smiled as 'Hook' blasted through the place and Stefan took his seat back, loosening up his tie.

"Blues Traveler, I'm impressed."

"What else did you expect?"

"I don't know, you're quite unpredictable, I half expected you to blast Jonas Brothers." She said fully serious.

"Hey, do not knock the Jonas Brothers, they had some good hits." He said with a straight face while humming Burnin' up to himself. Caroline could barely handle it by this point.

Somehow, he was the only guy on this planet who could pull fangirling over the Jonas Brothers so effortlessly and make it seem like she was the weird one.

"What even are you?"

"_Cause I'm burnin' up, burnin' up for you baby." _He continued humming, being perfectly on key.

"Stooop." She barely got out between her fits of laughter.

"What can you do? I'm a man of many talents. Most of them are completely useless, but talents nevertheless."

"You are unbelievable."

"You can bet on it, baby."

"Who says things like that?"

"I don't know? Slightly drunk me. Troy Bolton, probably."

Caroline nearly spit her drink. _This guy_.

"I can't even look at you anymore." She was laughing so hard she could no longer feel her abdomen.

Almost an entire bottle and a lot more giggling later, they were sprawled across the pool table. Well, Caroline was sprawled across, Stefan was dangling off.

"I give up, I can't find the ball."

"Jackson is so going to kill us on Monday."

"Naaah." Stefan waved his hand dismissively. "As long as we pay for the drinks and keep things clean, he won't care. Wait." He straightened up like he just woke up. "How did we get here?" He slurred.

He was having so much fun, for a minute he sincerely forgot about all the shit that went down. It felt good to let loose and have some fun, he doesn't remember the last time he did anything like this. It was kind of sad.

"We tried playing pool but we lost the black ball and then you got too tired, so we decided to lay down for a bit." She said, followed by a giggle, she couldn't help herself, her cheeks hurt from smiling. She was so, so drunk. So was he.

"It has to be somewhere around here." He jumped off the table, opting to lean against it instead of laying down. Caroline propped herself on her elbows, giving him a sly look.

"I can't believe we got this hammered on cheap bourbon. What are we, fifteen?"

Stefan snorted and nodded in agreement. "It felt good, though, didn't it?"

She leaned back once again, stretching her arms above her head with a satisfied and slightly sleepy smile. "It sure did."

_Purple rain_ by Prince came on the jukebox, earning a delighted _'aw yes'_ from Stefan.

"I friggin love this song."

Caroline got up in to a seating position and moved a bit closer to the edge of the table, so her legs were dangling off it.

"You said the same thing for every song that played so far."

"No, this one's special." He turned sideways so he could face her while talking. His drunken mind didn't quite realize he was standing very close to her to begin with, so now he found himself positioned between her dangling legs. The closeness made his heart race.

"Why is it special?" She spoke slowly, his eyes focused on her rosy lips, following every line as they moved. He wasn't even trying to stop himself anymore, her presence was intoxicating. All it took was one right look, a move or even a word for the energy to shift between them and change everything.

If he inched a bit closer his lips would crash against hers, relieving him of the tension that was building up inside of him since the moment he first saw her. A few inches and the line would be crossed, blurred, invisible.

She parted her lips only slightly, he could feel her warm breath on his skin, there was no coming back from that.

"Caroline-" He spoke hoarsely and then it hit him; there was no coming back from that. "It's right there."

Her brows furrowed, she blinked quickly, trying to understand what he was saying. He inched away and reached a little pass her.

"The black ball." He put it in front of her face, right between them. "It was right here all along, we just couldn't see it."

And just like that the energy shifted once again, sobering them up instantly. Caroline took the ball from his hand and jumped off the table. Their eyes met and had a silent agreement. It was for the best.

"Thank god you spotted it." She said with a knowing smile and headed towards the bar.

"Yeah-" he mumbled to himself. "Thank god."

* * *

Sheesh, I know this is really long and some people don't have the time to read 10k of words in one seating, but I really wanted to do both Bamon and Steroline justice, everything seemed important to put in, I didn't want to take away from any couple. There's a part three to this infamous chapter where you can expect some tear jerkers and some emotional Bamon and Steroline. Get ready guys, bring tissues.

All of that aside, what do you think? Where do you see these four taking their relationships? Will Bonnie crack Damon's hard exterior, will Steroline be able to keep their urges at bay?

I'm also very curious to hear your opinion on the Rebekah situation, do you think Stefan overreacted or was she in the wrong?

That's all from me for now. Thank you for your incredible support, I read every single review and PM you send my way with a huge smile on my face 😊

Check tumblr for more edits and sneak peeks:  
themeetmeatmidnightworld dot tumblr dot com


	7. Equal rights part 3

**A/N:** I apologize it took so long to update. Work and college got in the way, but I'm back! Thank you all for being patient and I hope you enjoy this!

* * *

"What an idiot."

"Are you talking to yourself? Because I must agree."

Damon turned around when he heard Bonnie's voice, he gave her a quick glance and returned his attention to the view from the gallery balcony, it was absolutely stunning. His hands gripped the railing tightly as he spoke.

"You're very brave with your words considering your entire career could end right now if I decided so."

"No way, Enzo likes me way too much."

"Is this the same girl from half an hour ago?"

Bonnie shrugged and gave him a small smile. She joined him by the railing, keeping a safe distance. She figured if she was barging in when he was clearly not in the mood to chat, at least she could give him some physical space.

"Do you want me to leave?" She asked timidly.

He thought about it for a second, then simply shook his head.

"No."

They stood next to each other in quiet for a while, each of them admiring the incredible view sprawled before them. Damon finished the rest of whatever was in his glass and put it down, his attention averting to Bonnie in the process.

"But I am curious to know what you are doing here? Shouldn't you be downstairs with Enzo?" There was a slight bite to his words that he couldn't mask as perfectly as he had wanted to.

"I just needed some air." She shrugged nonchalantly. It was a lie. Truthfully, she was so worried about him she couldn't leave it alone.

"Is that it?"

"Yes. That is it."

She saw him smile to himself. He knew.

"Interesting."

"Nope, nothing interesting, just a girl trying to get some fresh air, ya know? It's crowded downstairs."

"Mm-hmm."

A couple more minutes passed in complete silence. It took her a while to gather the courage to speak her mind and start a conversation with him when they were all alone. It was easier among the crowd, she felt more confident there and much more vulnerable this way. She wasn't quite sure why. She didn't get nervous around people, not even when it was just her and someone else. She was very quick with the small talk. With Damon it was somehow different.

"Okay-" she spoke slowly, to hell with it "-I was a bit worried about you, so I might have come up to check on you."

Damon couldn't help the smirk forming on his smug face.

"Don't make me regret it." She warned before he could say anything stupid and ruin this moment of clarity.

"I didn't say a word."

"You don't have to say anything, your face does it for you."

"And what is my face saying now?"

She turned to face him and observed him for a second. Her eyes went over the twisted lines of his lips. She followed down to his firm jaw that went perfectly with his sculpted cheeks making him a great candidate for a modelling career if he ever grew tired of his manager job. His lashes were casting a dark shadow over his eyes, making them even darker than they usually were. They appeared to be black, but if you focused enough, you could see tiny specs of sapphire blue coming through, literally sparkling at you.

He was a Disney prince gone rogue, it really was the best way she could describe him to anyone. He could almost fool you in to thinking he was this perfect, charming guy, but he'd eventually open his mouth to speak and bring you back to reality with his snark.

"It's saying something along the line of _'I'm bad news, you should stay away from me'_."

His eyes widened at the unexpected answer, he was taken aback by the raw honesty.

"If every instinct in your body is telling you I'm bad news, why are you still here?"

_Because I'm stupid._

"I have nothing better to do than to babysit you."

His palm went over his heart.

"Now that one really hurt my ego."

"Good." She said with a smile and turned her attention back to the city. She still hasn't gotten used to it, it felt surreal to her. The air was thick and nowhere as breathable as it was back home, but New York had a way of selling that glamour and flashing lights to you, so you'd completely forget about anything else and find yourself lost in its imperfect beauty.

"It's really something." She said quietly.

"What is?"

"The view." She smiled to herself and propped her chin on the palm of her right hand as she observed. "There's nothing like it back at home, you know? I mean sure, it has cute little waterfalls and huuuuge trees, great sunsets as well…but this…it's something else."

Damon looked on as she spoke. That big, sincere smile made her face lit up in ways people wrote about in poetry. Her entire personality caught him off guard, he's never met such a genuine down to earth person who wasn't boring. On contrary, she was one of the most interesting people he's ever met.

He was convinced people like that simply weren't real, either that or they were really good at pretending and their real ugly self would fine its way out sooner or later. He didn't see that happening with Bonnie.

She was either one of the last good people left on this planet or she was the best actress in the world, which judging by her emotional outbursts and not being able to keep her excitement to herself (ever), was highly unlikely.

"Well, you know what they say-" he stared her down confidently when he was sure she wasn't looking "- beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

She snorted and finally looked back at him.

"Are you programmed to make corny lines every 20 minutes?"

"You love it."

"Na-ah. I am too smart to be thrown off by your cheap pick-up lines."

"How very arrogant of you to assume it's a pick-up line."

"Is it not?"

He squinted at her, she picked up on the whole sarcastic twat act he was pulling, and she's done a pretty good job at mimicking it, but she was not quite there, yet.

"No." He said nonchalantly. "I was simply admiring the view."

She gave up. Trying to beat him at his own game turned out to be more exhausting than she thought it would be. It takes a lot of energy to be this witty all the damn time.

"I should go back there." She said after a few minutes of silence. "I promised Enzo I would be there the entire time, in case something got messed up."

"Relax. This isn't his first rodeo. Are you forgetting who he is? The man's been doing this for the past 10 years."

"I know, but I've been doing this for the past few weeks and I want him to know I'm taking this seriously."

"He already does."

"I don't know about that."

"Do you think he'd offer you the position if he thought you were only 'okay' in what you do?"

He was right.

"No, absolutely not."

"Exactly. Don't get me wrong, Enzo is a great guy, but when it comes to business, he is merciless. Just like one should be. If he thought something was wrong with your performance, you'd be out."

"God, I know. Everything that you're saying makes perfect sense, but-"

"You're scared."

"Yes!" She let out a long breath. "I am. I worked so hard and I realize how stupid that sounds because everyone works hard at everything nowadays…it's just that, there's so much at stake for me here I can't put myself or Caroline in a position where we'd lose what we have going on right now. It's not an option."

"You really care about that blonde demon, don't you?" Damon said with a perplexed look.

"Yes, why is that such an odd concept for you?" Bonnie scoffed.

"Someone liking Caroline?"

"No, people caring about other people in general." Bonnie's eyebrows furrowed in frustration.

"I don't know." He pondered on it for a second. "I guess it's the best way to live."

Bonnie made a grimace. The more he tried to convince her he was this heartless monster the more she was set on proving him wrong. There had to be more behind that icy exterior, she felt it in her bones. And she really wanted him to see it as well.

"You mean the saddest way."

"I beg to differ."

She arched her brow at him, waiting for an explanation. He sighed and turned around so his back was propped against the balcony railing and they could face each other. Nothing like the front row seat to the screening of _'Disappointment in Bonnie's eyes'_ as he proceeded to explain his dark outlook on life.

"If you isolate yourself from feelings and care only about yourself, nothing can hurt you." He took a small pause, his voice turning hoarse, raw with emotion. "The less people you love, the stronger you are."

Bonnie's lips turned in to a small frown. She shook her head lightly but said nothing. Every fiber of her being wanted to shake him by his shoulders and then hug him tightly.

She stood still.

"Oh BonBon, don't look so sad, look at me…I'm the happiest bastard I know. You wanna know why?" He let out a fake, loud laugh. "I don't care about anything."

"That's a lie." She said firmly. He turned his attention to her, staring her down. It almost felt like he tried to intimidate her in to taking it back and agreeing with him, but she wouldn't budge.

"You care about your brother." She said gently, her face taking on a softer appearance.

Damon closed his eyes and sighed. A small, sarcastic laugh passed his lips and he put his hands up in an _'I surrender' _manner.

"You got me."

Bonnie thought about what she really wanted to ask him all along and decided to go with it, to keep up with the honest tone they had set for the night.

"Is he the reason you're upset?" She asked carefully. Damon tried not to give it away, but one look at his pained face told her she was right.

She wasn't quite sure how to go on. More than anything she wanted to help, to make herself useful. She was a problem solver, that was her thing. But knowing how defensive he was, she wasn't sure how far they could take this before he got completely pissed off and went off on her for sticking her nose in his private life.

"I'm sorry." She blurted out. "I overstepped my boundaries, it's none of my business."

Damon nodded in agreement, she felt like an idiot. "That is very true."

She offered him another guilty look and bit down on her lower lip so hard she almost drew blood. She was not acting like herself at all. She wasn't the one to push people's buttons like that, she hated _those people_.

There was just something about Damon that made her want to get to know him, know his feelings, fix his feelings if they were broken, help him mend everything.

The first time that she felt that protective over him was the night she met him, when she saw Stefan trying to push him inside of that cab and send him home. Despite every rational part of her screaming _'No! Don't do it. Let it go.'_, she just couldn't. She had to get inside that cab and get him home safe, just like she had to check on him tonight.

She hated feeling so helpless over her own emotions. It made her feel weak.

"Well, I'm sorry. I'm not going to push it anymore." ." She said and nervously rubbed her palms against her thighs. "It's kind of stupid if you think about it. I don't even know you

Thankfully, Damon's stern expression loosened in to a small relaxed smile, helping her relax a bit as well.

"Yet, you've been more right about me then people who've 'known' me all my life."

This was it. His small admission. This was his white flag. He finally surrendered and for a tiny, fleeting moment he let her bask in the glory of being right about him.

"Maybe they're just not as good at reading character like I am."

Damon snorted, his eyes glued to the floor.

"Yeah, maybe it's that." He picked his head up and gave her a tired look. "Or maybe they're just self-centered assholes like myself."

Bonnie let her head fall back in frustration once more, she stared at the sky above them and let out a long, deep breath. If he keeps playing with her feelings like this, she'll have to start doing breathing exercises.

"Ahhh, just when I thought we made progress…he goes and opens his mouth."

Their eyes met and both of them started laughing, not being able to help themselves. The whole situation was wild.

Here she was, on her big night, playing shrink for a deeply scarred human she's known for a few weeks instead of being downstairs at the event that could skyrocket her career.

He suddenly stopped laughing and took on a serious expression, completely throwing her off.

He took a step towards her, his eyes focused on hers. Her heart leaped in to her heels. His hand reached down to take hers and he held it, looking at her.

She just stood there without moving and stared at him, trying to make sense of the situation. Her head was positively spinning.

"Listen, Bonnie-"

"I think I can hear him." A voice came from the staircase leading towards them followed by a laugh they both knew well. Damon dropped her hand in an instant and jumped away from her like he was being electrocuted.

"Heeere he is. Told you he'd be somewhere out here, hiding away from his responsibilities."

Enzo appeared and looked visibly surprised to find not only Damon, but Bonnie along his side. He raised his perfect brow in amusement. His attention was brought back to his guest who he politely offered his hand to, in order to help her up the final step and not have her trip over her extravagant gown.

It was a very beautiful brunette who seemed oddly familiar to Bonnie. She must have seen her face somewhere. The girl was petite but had a strong presence.

Her feminine figure and perfectly tailored dress made Bonnie go from feeling like a princess, to feeling like a maid next to her.

The girl walked up, unamused expression on her strict looking face and looked straight ahead at Damon.

Bonnie's eyes instinctively shot up to Damon as well. His were glued to the woman. It took Bonnie a while to catch up on what exactly was happening.

"Damon." The girl spoke cautiously, a fake polite smile playing on her red lips. "I've been looking all over for you. I called you like ten times." The last part came out straight out angry, no amount of fake smiling could cover it.

"You know I don't answer calls when I'm working." He said drily, his eyes never leaving hers.

"It's good that I found you then-" She said, her eyes shooting straight to Bonnie as she said the next part of her sentence. "-working hard as per usual."

Bonnie felt a sudden bout of negative emotions come over her. She wanted to get the hell out of there.

Enzo sensed the hostility around the trio and decided to intervene and save what was left to be saved of the situation.

"How incredibly impolite of me. I haven't introduced you, ladies."

Both of them looked at him, each of them giving him their version of a forced smile. If there was something Bonnie could not stand, it was fake politeness. And right now she was drowning in it.

Damon just stood there like a bystander. He looked like a toy that had its batteries taken out and was left there to stand and wait for someone to pick him up again.

"This is Elena Gilbert, a dear friend of mine. Elena, this lovely lady is Bonnie, my new intern and as of lately, our new associate." He introduced them and pointed to Damon when mentioning their new venture. Damon gave him a nod, silently thanking him for clearing things up in a civil manner, so he wouldn't have to take it up with Elena later.

That was wishful thinking, she was going to give him hell as soon as they got alone. Maybe even rightfully so. He purposely left his phone on silent.

"Nice to meet you." Bonnie mustered while Elena settled for a tight smile.

The four of them stood there for what was probably a short minute, but it felt like an eternity for Bonnie.

It was Enzo, once again, who decided to keep things moving and stir the conversation away from its evident awkwardness.

"Would everyone join me downstairs for some champagne? I'm sure we have a lot to talk about regarding our new business and Bonnie's future role in it. Elena you wouldn't mind, would you? I can assure you we won't bore you too much. Plus, you get to have all the champagne you want." He said with that charming smile no one could say no to.

Elena smirked and nodded her head in agreement. She walked over to Damon, linking her arm with his, causing Bonnie to look away.

She seemed territorial. Maybe she was one of Damon's flings and Bonnie was unwanted company.

The pair lead them down the staircase in to the main hall, with Enzo and Bonnie falling a bit behind.

"You have to excuse the sheer awkwardness of this little exchange." Enzo whispered to her as they walked shoulder to shoulder.

Bonnie gave a dismissing wave of her hand. "Don't worry about it."

"They are very heavy people on their own, but put them together…" He trailed off, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. "I've had years of getting used to their dynamic, yet I still feel like I'll never understand them together."

"Together?"

"You didn't know? Elena is his longtime girlfriend. It's kind of hard to miss, they've graced the cover of every tabloid you can imagine in the past few years."

Bonnie's heart did that thing where at first it dipped down and then started beating crazily fast. It was completely out of her control, just like her emotions have been the entire night. Why she even cared was beyond her.

"I don't pay any attention to tabloids, actually." She swallowed hard.

"No, of course you don't, it was foolish of me to assume." Enzo apologized for his assumption.

She smiled politely, but on the inside, she was breaking.

So much for not caring.

* * *

"One cream, two sugars, eeextra scorching." Caroline said as she handed him one of the cups she held. He took it gratefully and thanked her for it.

A cup of hot coffee to burn his insides and clear his head was exactly what he needed at the moment.

He almost kissed her. He almost _kissed_ her.

She didn't dwell on it, thankfully. He wasn't sure how he could handle the aftermath had it really gone down. Especially when he was this drunk. He had no place kissing her.

Stealing something so intimate from her when he was loaded on bourbon was not the way he wanted to start anything between them.

But god, every inch of his body was trying to convince him otherwise.

_It will pass. _

Maybe if he repeated it to himself a thousand times in his head, he would start believing it.

Caroline took a seat two steps above the one he was seated at. This way they were close enough to talk without having to yell, but still had some space between them.

It was a strategic move. She felt better calculating things, more in control. There was nothing she liked better than control.

Stefan was making her lose it so much, she was desperate to gain it back, any way she knew how.

She pulled her sweater tighter to herself. Despite it being spring, the nights were pretty chilly and the cold concrete they were seating on wasn't helping.

God, she sounded like someone's grandma.

She appreciated the cold air though. Things got so heated inside, both figuratively and literally, she needed this to clear her head and get her thoughts together.

She looked at Stefan out of the corner of her eye. His hair was all messed up and he looked like a child blowing on his coffee to cool it off. It was rather endearing.

"Are you cold?" He asked out of the blue.

"I'm fine."

"That didn't sound very convincing. I'll fetch you my coat." He put the cup down on the step and got up despite her fussing.

"That's really unnecessary. I'm not cold, I'm fineee."

"Liar." He stopped for a second to look at her. "Your legs and hands are shaking. And unless this is some sort of new trend I'm not acquired with; your lips are turning blue 'cause you're cold. I'm getting you a coat."

"My lips are not turning blue!" She exclaimed in protest.

"Fine. Blue-ish." He teased her and walked over to his car, getting his coat from the backseat along with his phone.

He came back and stood before her with a charming smile.

"May I?" He asked for permission to cloak her with the coat.

She gave him a teasing little eyeroll. He was so diplomatic all the time.

"You may."

He put the thing around her, his hands rubbing over her shoulders to smooth it out.

"There."

She tried to keep up with her annoyed appearance just to mess with him, yet she couldn't help but smile at his little gestures. He was so darn charming all the time. She felt hot in her cheeks from his stare and knew she'd be blushing like crazy in no time, so she looked away before it got too obvious.

"Thank you." She pulled the coat closer to her. It smelled like fresh laundry and soap, clean and familiar. Very Stefan like.

He sat down and was about to grab his cup when his phone started buzzing in his hand. It read Bex in bright bold letters. Caroline caught his distraught expression right away. He winced and let it go to voicemail, shoving the phone in his back pocket and out of sight.

She parted her lips to speak but stopped herself before any words actually got out. What even would she say to him? She sipped her coffee in quiet and decided to focus on something else.

But what did she want? It had to be Rebekah, she was sure he'd mentioned her as Bex before. Was she the reason he was such a wreck tonight?

She mentally cursed herself. How many times did she have to remind herself not to obsess over things that were none of her business? A lot more as it turned out.

His phone rang again. He gave another annoyed grunt and took it out of his pocket because the ringing was driving him crazy. Rebekah just couldn't let it go, she couldn't give him one night off, one night away from her if only to clear his head. He shut the thing off and regretted even taking it out in the first place.

Caroline was quietly perched up on her stair and said nothing, but he could tell by the way her lips were pressed together that she was holding back with everything she had.

He was slowly but surely starting to sober up. The feelings of anger, resentment and pure rage took over him once again, filling every corner of his body. Making his heart beat faster, his blood boil and head spin out of control. Just seeing the name flash on his screen made him absolutely mad. He was better off inside of that bar surrounded by loud music and absolutely empty headed. He knew it couldn't go on forever, this night was only a temporary escape from a permanent problem.

That is if he decided to keep ignoring it.

"Stefan?" Caroline asked, her voice so gentle he almost didn't hear it at first. He looked up at her without saying anything. She was biting her lower lip nervously.

"Are you okay?" She asked carefully.

Stefan let out a shallow laugh, shaking his head no in the process.

"Absolutely not."

He breathed out heavily. It felt good, saying it out loud. He felt it for years but feared that actually saying it to someone who would listen would make it real. Keeping it to himself gave him the benefit of doubt and endless excuses; '_Maybe it's not that bad'_ or '_We can fix it'_ or '_This is only a phase we're going through'_.

Lies. They were all lies he told himself in order not to fall apart.

Making it that much more surprising to him that now that he's said it, he felt fine.

Nothing came apart. Nothing felt ruined.

He felt_ free_.

Free of the burden he was carrying with himself all of these years. Free of the guilt he felt every single time he looked at Rebekah, knowing full well she was settling for their new life. Free of dread whenever his or her parents would call and ask them about visiting home.

"This is going to sound so cliché, but…do you want to talk about it?" She held her breath while waiting for his response.

"I don't, however I do feel like I need to." He swallowed hard. "But I don't want to talk about it with you." His face took on a solemn expression.

She sighed in frustration, putting her cup down next to her.

"Why?" Her brows met in the middle, making her look that much more frustrated.

"Because, Caroline-" he scrambled for the right words to say "- I'm really and I mean really, really fucked up right now. And I don't want you to have to be the one listening to me ramble on about my miserable life. Which could be a lot worse and there are people out there with real problems who deserve your undivided attention a lot more than me and my quarterlifer crisis."

She rolled her eyes at him. She just wanted to shake him by his shoulders and convince him otherwise. She shot up from her seat and slid right next to him with a determined look on her face.

"Try me."

"Caroline-"

"Now, unless this is something you really don't want to talk about – which I can totally respect – you should speak up. Trust me. And you do look like you need someone to talk to. We've only known each other for a short amount of time, but you've had my back every time I needed it-"

"-over a uniform. That's apples and oranges."

"It meant a lot to me!" She exclaimed, holding a hand up to her heart for a more dramatic effect. He narrowed his eyes at her. "Okay fine, it wasn't such a big deal, but it doesn't matter. Did it say somewhere in our contract that just because we work together we can't be friends?"

He said nothing, she was starting to make sense to him and it annoyed him. Why did she have to be so reasonable and right all the time. He just wished she pushed him away for once. It would make avoiding his unresolved feelings towards her so much easier.

Her hand landed on his upper arm to show her support. She rubbed it and gave him an earnest smile.

"I'm right here. Let me be your friend, Stefan. Please."

After he said nothing, she decided on a different approach. She stood up and took a stance right before him, her hands plastered firmly on her hips. His brows rose up in amusement.

"You and I both know I'm not going to give up so you might as well just spill it and save us both some time. The sun is about to come up in a few hours."

"I can take you home if you want."

"We're both drunk, neither of us is going anywhere."

"We can call you a cab."

"We can also tell Caroline what's on our mind because _something_ is obviously bothering us very much and _someone_ would feel a lot better if he just got over himself and spoke about his problems."

Jesus Christ, she was persistent.

"Fine." He surrendered.

His cooperation put a big satisfied look on her face, one she immediately regretted and turned in to a frown. She apologized.

"Sorry, this is a solemn occasion, I'll be serious I promise."

"I really doubt that, but it's cute you're trying."

Caroline narrowed her eyes at him. She sat back down, even more determined to show him how serious she was about all of this.

She somehow convinced herself that becoming friends would magically dissolve all of the tension and attraction between them, making them completely forget they ever liked each other so they could move on and be normal.

It was a long shot.

"I think Rebekah and I are over."

Silence. Deafening silence.

"We've stabbed each other in the back so many times in the last few years it's beyond repair at this point."

Caroline smoothed her hands over her knees and sighed quietly. She was not expecting _that_ to come out.

"Okay...Is it really over or are you just thinking about ending it."

"I'm going to do it."

"Maybe you should sleep on it, you know? Before you make any rash decisions."

His jaw tightened. He gave her a completely defeated look.

"I've been sleeping on it for three years now."

"Oh." She mouthed. She opened her mouth to ask him something but stopped midway. She felt the need to be very cautious, not wanting to hurt him any more than he already was. And it seemed like a lot, a whole lot of emotional pain. She could relate.

"I've tried. So many times." He ran his hand through his hear, smoothing it back. "We came to live here so our lives would get better. Mine did, but hers got worse. It took me such a long time to notice…well…not to notice. It took me a long time to acknowledge it."

Caroline felt pain in her heart, it was that uneasy feeling you'd get when watching someone who was hurting, and you'd find yourself completely helpless. You could just sit back and watch the torture.

"We left Chicago because of my father." He stopped and took a few deep breaths, mentally preparing himself for this part. He hated thinking about it, let alone talking about it. "He was making my life miserable. And not just mine, no. Damon's, my mother's, everyone who's ever worked for him suffered. I just couldn't take it anymore. You snap, sooner or later."

"Did he hurt Rebekah, too?"

"No, Rebekah was probably the only person he cared about enough to pretend around her. Which in hindsight, turned out to be the last drop for me."

"What do you mean?"

He stopped for a minute. His knuckles turned white, but he tried his best to compose himself.

"She went to him, behind my back. She took over the position my father wanted me to have. In Chicago."

Caroline's jaw dropped.

"Wow." She whispered, taken aback by the whole thing. "How long have you known about this?"

His lips turned in to a bitter smile.

"I found out a few hours ago. We were over at my parent's house. We got in to this big fight and my father cornered her. I mean, I would have found out eventually…"

She shook her hear. "Now it all makes sense. You getting shitfaced and all."

"Yeah."

"How did you react when you found out?"

"Not my proudest moment, to be honest." He bit his lower lip, regret written all over his face. "I stormed out and drove away as fast as I could. I-I left her there."

"Cold." She murmured. It made him laugh a little.

"Hey! I was hurt. It was like everything came crashing down all at once…I couldn't for the life of me stand a second more of seeing her. I needed space. Away. From her."

Caroline nodded in understanding. She was in awe of how much he actually opened up to her. She expected some half assed explanation of the situation with brief detail, but here he was, baring his soul to her in a very vulnerable way. She felt appreciative of it.

Letting people in is hard as it is, admitting how hurt you are, now that was next level.

"What are you going to do now?"

It was the one question he was trying his hardest to avoid. He wasn't ready to think about that, to make that decision. But, he'd never be ready anyway. It sucked, it truly sucked, and he hated everything about it.

"Honestly, I have no idea. Talk to her in the morning I guess. End it."

His chest felt incredibly heavy. Like someone put a giant rock in place of his heart. That feeling of carrying the weight of the entire world was slowly creeping up on him, swallowing him whole.

"That's it. My depressing rant is over. No more torture for you. You've heard enough about my messed-up family to scar you for life and we're barely scratching the surface."

"Stefan-" She wanted to protest. Messed up families were her forte.

"You said you wanted us to become friends, right? Like real friends?"

She nodded in agreement.

"Well, real friends don't bore each other to death with their childhood trauma and relationship problems from hell."

"Ugh, that's exactly what real friends do, Stefan!" She protested. "You really think your family is that messed up?"

He looked at her warily.

"Okay." She took a deep breath, she had his full attention now.

Remember Caroline, friendship is a two way street.

"I grew up with a gold digger mother who's spent approximately 10 days in total with me since I was born. To be fair, she was busy, she had to shop and organize brunches for stuck up bitches like her to uphold her status."

Stefan gasped, he wanted to talk but she waved her finger 'no' at him.

"Oh, I'm not finished. Thankfully, even though my mother was the biggest bitch on the planet, I had a wonderful dad who I simply adored. He is great."

Stefan smiled at that.

"Well, he was great, until he ran off to Italy with his gay lover Antonio and never came back."

He smiled too soon. _What the fuck._

"But you know, luckily, I still had my brother who I got along with thanks to our joint hate for our mother, right? Wrong. He joined the Navy as soon as he turned 18 and he never looked back. I see him two times a year when he's on leave."

"Wow."

"Yeah exactly."

"You should make your life in to a movie."

Her eyes shot out and she shoved him with both her hands. He couldn't help but burst in to laughter. It was all so bizarre it was hilarious in a very fucked up way.

"I can ask Damon for help with the casting…Rebekah can help with the legal stuff." She wiggled her brows at him.

Stefan made a pained expression.

"Uuuh, that one hurt."

"Don't worry, you can be a part of the camera crew, this could be a big break for both of us."

"You're cruel."

"You started it."

Both of them laughed earnestly. It felt good to laugh for a change. It was a defense mechanism they both felt comfortable with.

"What's wrong with us?" Stefan said, trying to catch some air. "We're so messed up."

"So messed up." She repeated after him.

"It takes some serious emotional damage to buildcharacter."

"The only thing I've built is my downward spiral. Sometimes I really think she was right, my mother. I'm not as special as I once thought I was and I'm finally starting to realize it."

Stefan felt offended by that. How dare she speak that way about herself. She was a literal angel on earth. The fact that she seemed to be so hateful towards herself made him feel that more angry at everyone who fucked her over.

"Hey, hey. Don't say that. You're amazing." He managed to calm himself down and be serious for a second. He looked her straight in the eyes and took a hold of her hand, catching her completely off guard. "Seriously, though. I am so sorry they hurt you so much. You are an amazing person and you deserved better than that. They were all wrong to leave you, when they should have cherished you the most. Honestly, it's their loss."

Caroline didn't say anything at first, she just stared back at his eyes. They were glimmering green, overflowing with honesty. It's what she liked most about him, he was an honest person. She found that it was a very rare trait for people to have nowadays.

The world she knew was built on lies and fake smiles.

Not Stefan, though. He was an open book. He let her roam through his pages and dive as deep as she wanted to, carefully answering every question she had about him, never holding back. He was true to himself.

Him letting her in made her feel warm on the inside.

And now, here he was. Giving her positive affirmations on things she had the biggest doubts about. Her biggest insecurities that kept her awake at night. He accepted them. He understood them.

He understood _her_.

He was saying words she longed to hear for the longest time. Such a long time she came to accept the fact that no one is ever going to say them out loud to her, ever.

Saying anything would ruing everything. So she didn't.

She returned his honesty with her own in form of a smile and squeezed his hand a little tighter.

Bonnie's grandma once told her that the best relationships she'll ever have will come from a place of gratitude and deep understanding of another soul.

She finally understood exactly what that meant.

* * *

**A/N:** To everyone who's ever took a few minutes of their time to leave a review on this story: _You are the best, ever. Period. _

I read all of your comments, PMs and messages on tumblr and they make me so incredibly happy, I could never stop writing this. This has been such a wonderful experience so far and I've met so many amazing people on this platform.

Sorry for being sentimental. I just reread some of the reviews and got emotional, lol.

* * *

Let me know how you like it so far. Any thoughts on Elena reentering the picture? Feel free to let me know what you liked (or didn't like). Are there any other characters mentioned in this story you would like to see more of?

**If you have any wishes for a short prompt about your favorite ship in this fic, send it to me** and if possible I will try to write it in (things like: ship having breakfast together, ship running in to each other, ship being stuck in an elevator together?). It can also be a **friendship prompt**, doesn't necessarily have to be Steroline/Bamon.

Get creative and let me know, I'm taking prompts to write in because all of you have been so good to me and I want to include your ideas in the fic.

* * *

For edits and updates check tumblr:

themeetmeatmidnightworld dot tumblr dot com


	8. Equal rights part 4

Thirty two, there were exactly thirty two women wearing a black lace dress at the event. Bonnie counted every single one of them. Then she counted again to be sure. It was a lot more interesting than what ever conversation was at the table.

A hot vacation in Cabo? Sipping margaritas on sandy beaches of Costa Rica? Skipping the waiting list at the hottest New York restaurant so she could try the new raspberry soufflé with cognac before anyone else?

Elena seemed to have done it all. She was eager to share it with the rest of her group, apparently.

She had to be one of the most annoying people Bonnie has ever met – and she's met quite a lot of 'em.

There was never a time Bonnie wished for Caroline to be there more. She would know exactly what to say and politely shut her up with her witty comebacks. It was times like this that Bonnie wished she was a smartass.

Bonnie was so bad with that stuff she didn't even recognize the girl even though her face was plastered on every single magazine that existed, or at least that's what a short Google search beneath the table told her.

She shot a quick glance at Damon.

He was sitting across from her, his arm draped over Elena's chair. He had that fake smile plastered on his face while he listened to another one of her anecdotes. This one involved her skinny dipping in Europe with Jason Derulo. _Fascinating._

Well, it did seem fascinating to Enzo and Damon. It interested them enough to give Elena their undivided attention. Damon she sort of understood, given the fact she was his partner. Enzo on the other hand, it baffled her how someone she deemed so intelligent and above average found interest in something so trivial and superficial. She expected better from him. Damon not so much.

She had a bad feeling about it since the very start. His drinking habits were a dead giveaway.

Such pity for someone with that much potential to waste it on alcohol and a bad relationship.

This whole evening started out so promising but turned in to such a disappointment. She couldn't wait to tell Care about it. Once she hears Bonnie spent the evening in the presence of Elena Gilbert, first of her name, queen of basic bitches and usurper of all things scandalous she's going to freak out.

The first thing Caroline does in the morning is open up the E!News Instagram account and go through the latest gossip. She's tried so many times to explain the Kardashian family tree to Bon and she failed every time. Bonnie's brain could not comprehend it, it went dull at the mention of the letter 'K'.

Care will be thrilled to find out Bonnie got the latest scoop on the life of the famous and the miserable first hand!

"That's quite a story." Enzo brought her back from her musings. The three of them were laughing at something Elena said and Bonnie sighed hard, garnering everyone's attention.

"Sorry." She so didn't mean to do that out loud.

"You alright?" Enzo leaned in and whispered to her. She nodded with a small smile.

"Definitely, I'm just getting a little tired, I'm not used to being up this late."

"It's half past one, the party is just getting started. Where's your spirit?" Elena cut in. She just had to. She had that bitchy look in her eyes, a daring one. She was provoking her. She shouldn't have done that.

"Well, some people have work early in the morning and consider staying late a luxury only a few of us can have." It was a slight dig at the fact that she was the most obvious gold digger out there. Bonnie took pride in it. Long gone were the times where he let people drag her down. This Elena girl is about to have her ass handed to her sooner or later if she continues like this.

The girl narrowed her eyes and looked at Bonnie quietly. She offered her the fakest smile and sipped on her champagne. She wasn't as quick with a come-back so she decided to let it go.

Damon's eyes shot between the two of them. This was a living nightmare. You could feel the tension with every inch of your body, suffocating you…or at least that's what it felt like for him.

Bonnie was pissed. Elena was pissed. Enzo was entertained.

Of course.

He should have known the night felt too good to be true. He felt like an absolute idiot not telling Bonnie about Elena.

He had wanted to tell her right when they first met, just get it out there. There were many opportunities for him to come out with it, yet he couldn't.

Bonnie wasn't like anyone else. She minded her own business; she didn't have a secret agenda. He knew it from the second he ended up at her door and she didn't recognize him. To be completely fair, Caroline didn't either, but that was due to the fact she was so committed to convincing herself she didn't like his brother. Lying to yourself takes up a lot of your time and energy. She did look him over twice when they met, but she waved it off.

Bonnie didn't have a clue, she had no clue who he was, who his family was or who his girlfriend was. She wasn't even aware he was one of Enzo's best friends until he turned up at her firm and explained it to her.

To Damon that was special. Someone who had no judgement towards him based on lies the media tried to feed people with. She was a unicorn. And he didn't want to ruin that. For some reason her opinion mattered, her presence was soothing and her words meant a great deal to him.

The minute he'd tell her about his fake glamorous life and the girlfriend he chose, Bonnie's opinion would drastically change. She'd judge him like everyone else. Put him in to a category. Label him.

He didn't want that.

Having one person in his life who was completely honest with him with no personal agenda was something he yearned for. Something that was taken from him a long time ago.

With Bonnie, he was just a guy who had a job in showbusiness and came in to her life unexpectedly to make her laugh every now and then and when the time was right, to become her friend.

Up until today.

It was all ruined now, she despised him. He had seen the resentment in her eyes earlier when she found out. It was even worse now than it would have been had he told her the truth right away.

Now she was convinced he was a stuck-up wannabe celebrity asshole and a liar.

He was ashamed to even look at her, so he avoided her eyes for the most of this conversation. He tried focusing on whatever crazy story Elena was telling the group. Bonnie was not impressed.

God, she must have thought they were the most annoying people on the planet.

Every time Elena opened her mouth to tell another rich people story he wanted to shove the napkin neatly folded on her lap in her mouth and make her shut up. But he didn't. He laughed like a coward.

He didn't even want to think about the aftermath of this evening. It was already exhausting enough being here against his will, taking part in the most uncomfortable table conversation ever, all while pretending to be amused to keep up his appearance.

"Speaking of work-" Enzo cut in, despite being the one who helped Elena find him earlier, he was the true hero of this night. He was saving them each and every time there was an awkward moment or pent up tension. Damon couldn't be more grateful to have him there. "- Now would be the right time to tell you about our plans and collaboration. Including Bonnie."

Bonnie dropped her intense gaze from Elena. _Finally_, Damon thought to himself. It was making him nervous.

"Including Bonnie?" Elena raised her brows in unpleasant surprise. This Bonnie girl was a problem. She shot Enzo a look.

"Well, she's going to work beside me as my assistant from now on, which means she'll be included in all of the projects I'm working on."

Elena pursued her lips, visibly displeased. Bonnie couldn't believe the nerve she had. She wasn't even trying to hide it, she was straight up going for her.

"Oh really? I thought Bonnie just started interning. Usually interns stay that for a very looong time." She said with a smile but the tone of her voice was nothing short of threatening. Bonnie's knuckles turned white. She put her hands on her lap underneath the table because she didn't want that bitch to see she was getting to her one bit.

"Bonnie is very quick to learn." Enzo answered diplomatically. Bonnie shot him a quick genuine smile of appreciation. She doesn't know what she would do without him there. Probably jump across the table and strangle her, then Damon for not giving her some sort of warning.

God, she was so mad. She really thought they had a moment. She was there for him so many times, she almost opened up to him…he opened up to her for god's sake. And he couldn't even tell her he had a girlfriend?

She thought they were friends, or at least getting there, but any chance of that was ruined by his lying. She felt used and stupid. A combination of feelings you do not want to experience.

"How familiar are you with Damon's line of work?" Enzo asked, forcing her to stop overthinking everything and join the present time.

"He scouts people?" She was a bit unsure of it herself. The little knowledge she had on the subject came from the scandal he had with Caroline and the little he told her.

Enzo chuckled.

"Sort of. He's also very involved with promotional stuff as of recently."

"It goes hand in hand." Damon finally cut in. _He speaks! _She thought to herself.

"We're looking to expand beyond our usual partnerships. So far we've worked with people in the food industry, fashion industry, car industry…you name it, we've been there."

"Except for one." Damon said and took a sip of his champagne.

"Showbiz." Enzo finished. "Do you see where we're going with this?"

"You want to work together." Bonnie concluded; it made a lot of sense. It was a smart business move, of course it was. It's Enzo we're talking about. And as much as she was mad at Damon at the moment, she couldn't deny that he excelled at his job.

"I bring in the clientele."

"And we take care of them." Enzo motioned between himself and Bonnie. "This is where you come in, with the restructuring and taking on this new thing, I'll need a lot of help."

"Understandable."

"That's not all. I'm going overseas in about a month, and Damon, as great as he is at his job, has no idea how we operate."

It was slowly downing on Bonnie.

"He's going to need a lot of help."

"Your intern is going to work with him?" Elena cut in out of nowhere, she was trying to keep calm, but she was visibly upset with them. Her body language betrayed her.

"She's no longer an intern." Damon said quietly, making everyone look at him.

Bonnie gasped. She be damned, he was standing up for her. Elena swallowed hard but didn't say a word.

"We've prepared an office for Damon, so he could commit to it fully. It's a serious matter, we're talking million dollar deals, not something to joke around."

"I was going to tell you soon." Damon said to Elena. Apparently, Bonnie wasn't the only person he was keeping stuff from.

"That is if everyone agrees to the deal. It's in the works, but all of it means nothing if we don't have everyone on board with it. So-" he fully committed to Bonnie "-what do you say?"

She was caught off guard. So much had happened in one night alone. She was just another intern when the night had started and now the man she looked up to her whole adult life was offering her a position in his firm, doing million dollar deals. It was once in a lifetime opportunity if she's ever heard of one.

There were so many concerns on her mind, so many doubts. Would she be good for the job? Did she get ahead of herself and took a bite she couldn't possibly swallow? Would this be possible with Damon by her side?

It was a big factor, one she couldn't ignore. If all of them agree, there's no more avoiding each other, also no more place for drama like tonight. They would be forced to make it work and put everything else aside.

"You can think about it if you want, it's a hard decision." Enzo offered some compassion.

"Take it." Damon said straight out, his eyes interlacing with hers.

"Excuse me?"

"I said, take it." He said, his voice unwavering. "You've worked your ass off for something like this your whole life. It's not going to get better than this. You'll regret it for the rest of your life if you say no, I can promise you that."

The way he held eye contact with her, made her feel like everything around them stopped and it was just the two of them.

She finally broke contact and looked over to Enzo.

He shrugged.

"It's up to you."

Now or never Bonnie. Now or never.

She wasn't sure if it was her really wanting it, Damon's persuasive ways, the fact that she felt more alive than ever just thinking about it or all of that together. She wanted it.

"I'm in."

The smile that broke on Damon's face was priceless, almost as priceless as the frown on Elena's.

"I'll drink to that." Damon said as he raised his glass. Enzo joined, clearly delighted at the situation. Truthfully, he had no plan B for this. He put all of his faith in Bonnie and he was glad she didn't back down.

Elena took her glass but instead of cheering with everyone else, she straight up downed her drink and started pouring another.

Bonnie smiled. Untouchable. That's how she felt.

She put her glass down and reached for her clutch, she had to call Caroline and tell her about this, it couldn't wait. She politely excused herself and went for the restroom.

It was one of those huge over the top bathrooms with staff at the entrance, ready to literally hold your purse while you peed. Or that's how Bonnie saw it.

She gracefully avoided all of that and went inside, her purse in her hand. She walked over to the marble sink. The sound of her heels bounced off the walls, that's how big the place was. She marveled at how beautiful everything was. Even the flowers were fresh, white lilies.

She let the cold water run for a bit and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Everything felt surreal. Her being there, the job, her guts to actually accept the offer. Things were good.

Spoke too soon.

"Great." She murmured under her breath as Elena's slim figure made her way over, the signature bitch smile was in place.

"Girls should never go to the bathroom alone, it's the girl code." She said sweetly, as if she hadn't acted like the biggest brat just minutes ago.

"Sure." Bonnie said and closed the tap. She pressed her cold hands to her neck to cool off, suddenly she felt very tense.

"You're gonna do great on that new job, you know."

Bonnie's eyes laced with hers through their mirror reflections.

"Why the surprised look, I'm serious." Elena insisted.

"You didn't seem too happy for me back there."

"You're right." She pulled out a lipstick from her bag and started fixing it, rubbing her lips together to finish it off. "I wasn't happy at all, but it had nothing to do with you."

"Fine." Bonnie started to dry off her hands. "What was it about then?"

_Wouldn't you like to know,_ Elena thought to herself. Who did this girl think she was anyways?

"That's not important. What's more important and the reason why I'm here is Enzo."

"Enzo?" Bonnie's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Oh come on." Elena scowled "Don't give me that."

Bonnie remained stoic.

"For real?" Elena huffed exasperatedly. "He likes you and if I'm not completely blind – which I'm not, you have the hots for him too." She said confidently.

"Oh, no. No. I work for Enzo, that's the beginning and the end of it."

"So what, I used to work for Damon and look at me now." She said smugly.

"That's different." _I have morals._

"Is it really?" She crossed her arms over her chest and took a step closer to Bonnie, invading her private space. She was trying to tower over her, but it didn't work in her favor since they were both pretty short.

Unbeknownst to her, there was no need for that. She was already intimidating enough for Bonnie as it was.

"There's no need to hide behind diplomacy, deep inside we're all the same. Driven by the same desires, controlled by the same needs." She spoke, never breaking eye contact. "The longer you suppress them, the worse it gets. Why deny yourself what you really want, huh?"

Bonnie took a step back, whatever manipulative thing she was trying to pull, it wasn't working. Not on her.

"I think you misread."

"Did I?" Her face went from sweet and tempting to cold and threatening in a matter of seconds. "Maybe I didn't misread anything. Maybe-" She leaned forward, getting all up in Bonnie's face "-I just confused the names and it's not Enzo you're after."

Bonnie's breath caught in her throat. She felt heat rushing to her cheeks. A million thoughts ran through her mind. She felt absolutely paralyzed.

Elena burst in to a short laugh and moved away. Her eyebrows shot up and her eyes widened.

"I'm messing with you, Bonnie." She continued laughing, Bonnie joined out of sheer awkwardness. She wanted out. Now.

This girl wasn't messing around and she most definitely wasn't joking about it. She knew something was up. She figured it out. Fuck. Fuck. Fuckity fuck.

"So, have fun at your new job Bonnie and always watch your back, it's a cruel world out there."

She picked up her bag and headed for the door.

"You don't like me very much, do you?"

She stopped in her tracks, turning her head back to look at Bonnie. Her hand let go of the knob and fell by her side.

"I don't like many people very much."

"Including me."

"I've known you for five seconds, what makes you think I care that much."

"You care about Damon, I mean, obviously you do, he's your partner."

Elena immediately rolled her eyes. As if it were not obvious enough. This girl was a lot harder than the ones she usually dealt with, she actually talked back. It intrigued and annoyed her at the same time. Even more reasons for wanting her gone.

"Where are you going with this?"

"You seem to dislike the fact that I'm going to work alongside him."

"I never said that."

_Your face did it for you._

"You insinuated it."

"What makes you think you're important enough for me to feel threatened by you?"

"Well I-"

"Let me spell it out for you. You and me, we're not the same. We're never going to be the same. As much as I admire your work ethic and devotion to convincing everyone you didn't develop feelings for people you obviously did, I am not threatened by you. You know why?"

Bonnie stayed quiet.

"Because Damon and I have been through hell and back together. You thinking your little heart to heart talks with him and innocent flirty looks across the table would be enough for him to even look at you that way, shows just how delusional you are. You think you're something special?"

She let out a hoarse laugh.

"I've dealt with dozens of Bonnies over the past few years. Dozens." She emphasized. "You think this is new to me? Please. Damon's flirted his way to the top with just about every single intern Enzo has ever had and if you think you were the one who finally got to him, you thought wrong. Newsflash, he's mine. He's been for the longest time and that's where he'll stay."

* * *

"Everything alright?" Enzo asked as they returned to their table, both of them looking somber.

Bonnie forced out a fake smile and nodded.

"I think I'm gonna head home now, I'm pretty tired. That is if you don't need me here anymore."

"No, of course, your work here is done, please, go and get some rest."

"But the party is just getting started, sure you don't want to stay a bit longer?" Elena cut in.

_Don't punch her. _

"Positive."

"I can escort you out, if you want."

"No, it's really not needed-"

"I'll escort you." Damon said and got up from his seat.

"Damon-" Elena grabbed the sleeve of his jacket to pull him back.

"It'll jut be a minute, it's the least I can do." He insisted.

Bonnie didn't wait for him to come around. She said her goodbye to Enzo, completely disregarded Elena and headed towards the coat check girl.

Damon followed suit.

"I never got to thank you."

"Stay away from me!" She hissed at him.

"Bonnie-"

She pushed him away and headed straight for the exit. Her eyes desperately sought out for the first cab she could find. Nothing. A whole fucking city of cabs and not one of them around. Seriously?

"Wait, wait-" he caught up with her. She refused to turn around and look at him.

"I know I should have told you about my private life and about the job earlier, but it's not that big of a deal, is it? You can't possibly be mad at me for that. Talk to me."

"Just go inside Damon."

Something was off. Her voice was so quiet he could barely hear her and she wouldn't look at him. He softly reached for her hand but she jerked it away.

"Whatever I did, I'm sorry."

He finally got around her so he could see her. Her eyes were brimming with tears threatening to fall any second. His heart started beating rapidly. _Fuck._

"I'm going to say something, and I'm only saying it once." She inhaled deeply. It took all the strength she had not to fall apart in front of him like a little weak girl. "From now on you only address me as Bonnie, your coworker and partner on a project. We're not friends. We're not buddies. We're partners in business and that's it. No more barging on my door at the crack of dawn. No more pouring your soul out to me when I least expect it. No more leaning on me the next time you fuck up and need someone to take you home. Partners. Coworkers."

His face was stern but on the inside he was hurting much more than he'd like to admit to anyone. Every single word stung like a bitch.

He was right.

Wanting them to form a bond. Starting a friendship. Having a person in his life he could actually trust…it was too good to be true. He messed it up. It was all his fucking fault.

He almost made her cry and he felt unworthy of even being in her presence. He felt ashamed.

Here she was. A single, normal person in his life. Who was ready to let him in and he fucked it up.

"Do you understand me?" Her voice broke halfway.

A cab finally pulled up behind her.

He nodded. His jaw tightened so hard his teeth were grinding together.

"I understand."

"Good."

She sat in the cab and closed the door without looking at him.

She gave the address to the driver and leaned back. She shut her eyes as tight as she could to stop the tears that were rimming her eyes from multiplying. It also had to do with the fact that she couldn't see his disappointed figure in the review mirror, getting smaller and smaller as the cab picked up speed.

Too much.

That's what she felt.

Too much confusion. Too much confrontation. Too much hatred. Too much of everything.

How could one person make her feel so worthless in such little time.

Elena Gilbert. A name she'd forever associate with someone making her feel smaller than a dust particle.

She hated that it even got to her. It made her doubt herself, made her realize she wasn't as strong as she believed she was. As it turned out, she wasn't immune to catching unwanted feelings either.

She took out her phone and speed dialed Caroline.

"_Hey! This is Caroline, but you knew that because you called. Duh. I'm either super busy or not in the mood. Either way leave a message!"_

Her bubbly voice message came through. She checked the time. Half past three. Unless she was still at the bar, cleaning up after her failed uniform revolution, she was probably sleeping. She put the phone down in her lap and sighed.

"Are you okay, lady?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me." She was not in the mood to talk her feelings out with a cab driver. Not today.

"You sure? I can hand you a tissue if you'd like."

Great. Even the cabbie noticed how pathetic she looked with her ruined mascara. She shook her head no.

"Alrighty then." He said cheerfully and decided to entertain her with some foreign upbeat folk music.

"German Polka! This stuff could make a dead man cry from joy."

He started bouncing happily in his seat. Bonnie didn't know what to do so she just stared at him for a moment.

Is this her life now? Crying in the backseat of a filthy cab while a chubby cab driver plays polka for her?

* * *

"I hope you sort it all out, remember, Jesus loves you no matter what."

He said as they reached her destination. She smiled through her teeth and shut the door. He waved bye enthusiastically. The polka music could be heard from the car even as if drove off. It's going to haunt her for the next week, she was sure of it.

She dragged her feet up the stairs to their apartment, opting to walk instead of taking the elevator, because apparently she liked pain.

She fumbled for her keys and after a few failed attempts at unlocking the door, she made it inside. She leaned against the door frame and let out what felt like the biggest sigh of her life.

It felt safe here, in the apartment. She felt protected from all the bad stuff that's happened. Being at this place she was getting used to calling her home was a new safety blanket.

The lights were out and Caroline's door was shut. She took of her heels and tiptoed to her door anyways, poking her head in just a bit to check if she was home.

She was, sleeping like a baby.

Bonnie smiled and closed the door, careful not to wake her. She headed towards her room, too tired to even think about taking her make up off. Sure she'd look like an endangered panda in the morning but at this point, she didn't even care.

She started unzipping her dress and stripping it off along the way. Behind her was a trace of an earring, a bracelet, a dress and two shoes scattered over the floor from Caroline's room to hers. She was just about to take the other earring off when she finally reached her room.

It was pitch black. Thankfully there was barely any furniture inside, otherwise she'd be tripping all over the place. She let the earring fall to the floor and happily sighed.

A few seconds and two steps kept her away from pure happiness and joy. Her bed.

She fully committed to making the most of it, so instead of laying down like a normal person she just about dived in to it.

That's weird. Her mattress isn't usually that bumpy and human like and _OH MY GOD._

"Excuuuse meee."

"AAAAAHHHH!" She screamed and jumped of the bed going straight for the light switch.

"Whoaaaa." The thing grunted from beneath the covers at the sudden burst of light.

It took her a hot minute to come to her senses and recognize that brown head of perfectly styled hair – seriously though, how was his hair this perfect even now?

"STEFAN?!"

"No. I'm Stefan…oh wait, yeah." He slurred slowly.

The door flung open, bringing a wide-eyed Caroline in to the picture. She grabbed Bonnie by the shoulders and started shaking her.

"Bonnie are you okay?!"

"Yes-" Caroline continued to shake her "-for the love of god, stop shaking me, I'm fine! You're making me dizzy."

"Sorry….you scared me."

"I scared _you_?" She pointed to a passed-out Stefan on her bed. Was he already asleep again? And was that…oh my god…he was snuggling Ms. Cuddles.

"Shhh, you're going to wake him." Caroline shushed her. Bonnie snapped her head around, giving her the death glare.

Caroline took her by her hand and dragged her out in to the hallway.

The brunette started tapping her foot on the floor and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Explain."

"We ran in to each other at the bar."

"Well duh, both of you work there."

"No, I mean, he wasn't supposed to work tonight but he came in because-" She stopped and bit her lower lip. "Well, something happened to him and he needed some peace and quiet."

"And he ran in to you? How unfortunate for him."

"Bonnie!" She smacked her arm.

"Still not getting why Mister Perfect Hair is snuggled in MY bed with MS. CUDDLES."

"He was so sad."

"You let him sleep in my bed because he was sad?"

"He was so, so sad. And it's easy for you to talk now, you weren't there. He has the saddest puppy eyes I've ever seen in my life. He's irresistible, Bonnie!"

"You let him sleep in my bed because he was sad?" She repeated herself, with a bit more attitude this time.

"There's more to it."

"I'm waiting."

"I tried to cheer him up-"

"With your naked body on top of his, I hope."

"Bonnie, no."

"Riding his problems away, one at a time."

"No! What the hell is wrong with you?" She narrowed her eyes at her, her hands firmly on her hips. She looked like an angry mom. "Are you drunk as well?"

"Maybe a little."

Caroline's strict mom look intensified.

"Okay, maybe a lot. But I have my reasons. Continue."

"We hung out for a bit and we got a little drunk and one thing led to another…"

Bonnie's eyes just about jumped out of their sockets.

"You had sex with him! I knew it." She started doing a little dance with her shoulders.

"No! No…Bonnie, no! And hey, what do you mean _'I knew it'_?" She impersonated Bonnie in an exaggerated voice. Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"Really Care? Really? The two of you basically fuck each other with your eyes ten times over every single time you're in the same room."

Caroline gasped, her hand immediately going over her heart in shock.

"I said what I said."

"Stop it!"

"Uuu, Caroline wants to have sex with a guy, we must alert the church elders!" Bonnie continued to tease her, completely forgetting they had bigger things to discuss.

"Stop ittt!" Caroline reached forward to smack her again but Bonnie successfully ducked.

"It's not that big of a deal Caroline, if you want that D just go ahead and get ittt."

Caroline's face changed from annoyed to mortified.

"Um. Hi." A hoarse voice spoke behind her. She felt his presence towering over her.

It was Bonnie's turn to be mortified now.

"Stefan, you're awake." She mouthed and turned around. _Why? Why did she speak?_

Stefan stood there awkwardly, biting on his lower lip while his cheeks turned pink.

"I was just telling Bonnie how we - you ended up here." Caroline chimed in.

"And I was just telling Caroline that I was still a little drunk from my night out and I'm prone to saying stupid stuff when I'm drunk."

"Ah." Stefan's brows shot up in amusement.

"Sorry I jumped on you…and screamed at you."

"Sorry I took over your bed and your bear."

"Cuddles. Her name is Ms. Cuddles."

"Really? You named your bear Ms. Cuddles? That's so darn cute." Stefan said with endearment. Caroline rolled her eyes while Bonnie beamed and nodded in agreement.

"Thank you! It's nice to feel appreciated." She shot Caroline a smug look.

"Bonnie, can you give us a minute?"

"Sure." Bonnie went back to her room but made sure she narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Caroline first.

"I had no idea she'd come back before dawn, you can stay at my room." Caroline said apologetically.

"Like you haven't done enough for me already. I'm going home."

"There's no way that's going to happen."

"It's dawning outside, I'm pretty sobered up, I'll be fine, Care."

"Care?" She smiled faintly. "Sorry." She shook her head. "My older brother used to call me that all the time, it brings back memories."

"Good ones, I hope."

She bit down on her lip and nodded.

"But, that's not the point. At least take the couch if you won't take my room. Don't make me fight you again, you promised you would stay."

"Until I sobered up."

"We're friends now, right?" It still felt kind of odd saying that. Something just didn't feel right about labeling them as friends. Maybe it was the fact that she was just a tiny bit disappointed by it but didn't want to admit it to herself yet. "Friends don't let friends face their traitor girlfriend when they're a complete mess. Fact."

"You know I can't avoid her forever."

"I know and I agree but hear me out. You would deal with it a lot better after some good sleep and a nice breakfast." She beamed at him.

Breakfast did sound really good and some more sleep seemed like heaven after the night he's had.

It was not logic that did it though, it was her too adorable to resist smile. Because how could anyone really?

Before he knew it he was wrapped up in a pink fuzzy blanket.

Girls always have better blankets.

Not pillows tho, every single one of them was either probing his head with sequins or leaving glitter all over him.

When he thinks about it, ever since he's met Caroline, he keeps finding glitter everywhere. On his clothes, his shoes, his skin, even his hair. It was one of those things like finding sand everywhere when you'd go to the beach.

He'd confront her about the glitter terrorising in the morning. But for now, he was okay with a little more sleep.

* * *

**A/N**: Okay, hear me out. I know there was a lot of Bonnie in this chapter, and I promise I'll make it up to everyone else in the next chapter (that is currently being written). I will upload much sooner this time and balance the couples out, always making sure it's fair, so don't worry.

It's due to the fact that it makes sense for the chapter to end here as it's the end of that super long gala night and I didn't want to keep you guys waiting for a few more days since I had a lot written already.

**Let's go over this.** Bamon working together? Bonnie being completely heartbroken over Damon…will she be able to get over it? What does future hold for Stefan and Caroline? Is his relationship with Rebekah really over? There's also a little Friends reference in there, I'm sure someone will pick up on it!

Give me your thoughts on the chapter and your predictions! I'll respond to you via PMs and we can discuss it.

If you're interested in more about this story, find it on tumblr, I started posting a lot on there 😊


	9. Moving on

I'm trying a different style of writing, one that seems more fit. It includes a lot more of the characters talking and interacting and less describing things. Feel free to let me know how you feel about it 😊

As promised, this one is a bit more Defan&Caroline focused and a little less Bonnie, since she got most of the last chapter to herself.

* * *

"Stefan." Her eyes are hopeful and swollen. She sits on the edge of their couch. It seems like she'd been waiting for a while.

"You're still here." It's an observation rather than a question.

"Where have you been the entire night? I was so worried about you." She says through tears.

"I stayed with a friend." He says simply and refuses to give out further detail. He takes off his coat while she watches on, quietly. Neither of them knows where to start or what to say.

She seems scared. And rightfully so. All she's ever wanted was her perfect modern fairytale completed with Stefan in it. And now? Her modern fairytale prince couldn't even look her in the eye.

"I'm-"

"Don't." He cuts her off before she has a chance to say anything more. He's tired. Mentally tired.

Of her, of the way she makes him feel, of the way they've mistreated each other through the years, of lying, manipulating. Most of all, he's tired of trying to mend something that is broken beyond repair. It's madness in its purest form. He must put an end on it, because she sure doesn't look like she's going to.

"We can fix this." She says ironically. A short laugh escapes his lips. A bitter one.

"Rebekah-" he looks at her, finally "-there's nothing in this world that can fix this, ever again."

Her eyes start to water instantaneously. His instincts tell him to reach out and comfort her but he reminds himself it's just an old habit he has to kick.

"I've stood by you through everything."

"I never asked you to do that." He reminds her.

"I did it because I loved you. I still do." And it's true. She does. A part of her always will.

"I know, I know. And I loved you, so much." He sighs. He thought he was ready for something like this, but he never accounted emotions that come with it. Bringing up old feelings of love that has visibly perished over time hurts like hell.

"And you don't anymore?" She asks desperately. It hits him like a ton of bricks. It hits him, because he doesn't know what to say. He's thought through the logistics of their breakup and one of them moving away, he's also thought through every single reason for why it's time for them to break up. He never had the courage to actually ask himself that question.

"I-" he starts, he searches for words but they don't come out.

He can see the shift in her eyes. She's no longer hopeful. She takes a deep breath and stands up so she can face him better. It's like she wants him to see her suffer up close. So he could memorize every tear tracing down her face and have that image haunt him forever.

"I'll pack my stuff and be gone in a few hours."

"We got this place together, I can crash at Damon's for a while, until we figure it out."

"I'm going to Chicago." She says and looks him dead in the eye.

His jaw tightens at the mention of it but he says nothing. It's none of his business anymore. She can go to the end of the world for as far as he's concerned.

* * *

"And she left, like it's over for good?"

"She's finishing up packing as we speak."

"Wow." Damon says in disbelief. He did not see that coming. "Wait, is this one of those things you're going to blame me for because I talked you in to visiting home?"

"No, no. You've done nothing wrong, you did what you thought was best."

"I give the crappiest advice."

"If anything, you contributed to me dogging a bullet. So you shouldn't be apologizing, I should be thanking you." He says honestly and reaches for his shoulder. It's a small gesture but it's very reassuring.

Damon's been feeling like crap ever since the two last saw each other. They're brothers. No matter what happens, Stefan is always going to be the most important person in his life. He wants to tell him everything so badly. About the deal, about the threats, about the contracts…

He knows Stefan resents him for his relationship with their father. He hides it well, but Damon knows. If only he knew the truth, it would all make sense to him.

He feels even more like a traitor to his brother now that Rebekah pulled her stunt, making Stefan feel more vulnerable than ever when it comes to their fucked-up family.

And Rebekah. He's going to have a talk with her for sure.

"Well, what are you going to do now?"

"I'd like to know that as well. I don't know. It's all very confusing at the moment. I-" Caroline pops in to his mind instantly. He can't get her off her mind. _It's too soon_. He tells himself. Too much has happened recently.

"You what?"

"I-I don't know."

Damon narrows his eyes suspiciously but lets it go. For now.

"Speaking off, do you need a place to stay? Where did you spend last night anyway?"

Stefan cracks a little smile.

"What's funny about that?"

He remembers Bonnie's look of horror when she found him in her room and Caroline barging in, shaking her vigorously. He'll remember that for a long time. He felt so bad, he sent Bonnie a chocolate bouquet to apologize for it as soon as he left their apartment. It was Caroline's suggestion to get her food instead of regular flowers. Apparently, Bonnie is more of a chocolate kind of gal. It worked like a charm. Caroline confirmed it via text earlier.

"Actually, I stayed with Caroline," he says it casually "and uh I don't need a place to stay. She doesn't want the apartment."

Damon only picks up on the first part of that sentence. He stayed with Caroline? That means he stayed with Bonnie as well. He has so many questions, but most of all he wants to know if the latter is okay.

"Explain." He gives an order.

Stefan decides to play dumb.

"Well, she's moving to Chicago, what the hell is she going to do with an apartment in New York."

"Not that you dumbass, you stayed with Caroline?"

He seems awfully riled up by that. It sets Stefan's curiosity ablaze. There's no way it has anything to do with Caroline or him, which can only mean one thing. Bonnie.

"Yeah, well, that's a long story."

"I have time."

Stefan raises his eyebrows.

"What's in it for you?" He challenges. "You hate Caroline."

"How dare you?"

"You literally said to me the other day '_I hate that girl Caroline. She is the epitome of hatred towards another human being'_"

Damon rolls his eyes.

"I say that for everyone."

"True."

"Besides, she's like my best frenemy. I love Caroline."

"Your relationship confuses me beyond words."

"You just don't get it."

"I really don't."

"Well?"

Stefan sighs and signals to the bartender for a refill.

"I didn't know where to go when it all went down. I figured it would be best for me to just go somewhere safe, quiet and packed with alcohol."

"Makes sense."

"Right? So I ended up at Sax. It was super late, no one was supposed to be there."

"But someone was."

"Care."

"Care? You call her Care now?"

"Do you want to hear the story or not?"

"Keep talking." He smirks. His little bro is so falling for this girl and he doesn't even have a clue.

Makes two of them.

"We talked and she helped a lot. Obviously, we ended up getting drunk…gosh I feel like I'm saying that a little too often lately, I sound like an alcoholic. Anyways, she convinced me to stay the night."

Damon looks at him like he's crazy.

"That's it? No hookup?"

Stefan rolls his eyes in to oblivion.

"Why does everyone think we're hooking up?"

"Why does everyone think I'm an alcoholic?"

"Because you drink all the time."

"Caroline is your drinking problem." He says matter-of-factly. Stefan shakes his head in confusion.

"That doesn't make any sense."

"What are you waiting for? You got rid of that bitch faced blonde yoga enthusiast. Go for it my son."

"We're not talking about this." Stefan shuts it down before he gets carried away. The last thing he needs right now is someone putting ideas in his head. He knows it would drive him crazy even more and he is on the verge of losing it without picturing Caroline naked on top of him. Good God. Now he's picturing it.

"Did you have fun with Bonnie at the gala?" He asks to distract himself.

Damon's face falls flat.

She's ignored every single one of his messages. The worst part is he isn't even sure what he did wrong. Aside from keeping Elena a secret (sort of, technically she never asked), he was clean. He's apologized a few times, he tried slipping it into conversation with Enzo earlier but it failed. Turns out there is such a thing as being too subtle.

"It was work, wasn't supposed to be fun."

"Free booze and stuck up people that you hate? You live for that stuff!"

"It was a dry night."

Stefan stops asking questions and eyes him suspiciously. That doesn't sound like Damon at all.

"Did Elena stop by?"

The deadly look his brother gives him answers that question. Bringing up Elena was like tearing into the Pandora box, he isn't sure either of them are ready for that conversation right now.

"She made herself known."

_Change the subject Stefan. Change the subject. For the love of God, change the subject!_

"I was thinking of buying a new tennis racket."

No wonder people think he's stupid half the time.

Damon grimaces at his lame attempt and shakes his head. He gives him an apologetic look in return. His head still hurts from last night, this really is the best he can do now.

"I don't know how to deal with her anymore." Damon starts while Stefan holds his breath. Damon opening up to someone should be on the Vatican list of miracles. "If I don't take it out somehow, I am going to explode."

"Talking about it to someone is a good start."

Damon smirks bitterly.

"Come on now, you're talking to me." He points at his chest, encouraging him. "We've been through some pretty dark stuff together, who else are you going to tell if not me?"

He has a good point. It makes Damon smile a little bit. His little brother is really growing up. The serene feeling passed through him and was quickly replaced by anxiety.

There was so much he actually wanted to tell him and wasn't able to, it made him feel guilty every single time he even looked at him. If his brother knew how many secrets he's been keeping he would hate him for sure.

Stefan always thought so highly of him, often putting himself down for not being as successful or _'put together'_ as Damon.

It was all a lie. Stefan was far more of a man than Damon ever had a chance to be. His whole adult life was a big disgusting lie.

"I'll tell you about it." Damon watches as his brother's eyes lit up hopefully. "When the time is right."

Stefan sighs quietly and nods in understanding. Cancel Vatican, Damon remains an enigma, indefinitely.

A few quiet moments pass between them until Damon breaks the almost awkward silence.

"What are you going to do now?"

"Now _now_ or the close future _now_?"

"Both."

"Taking a few days off from work, I could use it. I figured now I can finally move the furniture around the way I want to, especially the stupid-"

"Ficus plant." They both say in unison. Stefan grunts immediately.

"God."

"You've always hated that plant."

"I fucking loath that stupid plant. It's the first thing I'm throwing out. You know what, no. I'm gonna take that stupid thing out and torch it!" His eyes light up with excitement.

" No, Stefan…remember the last time we tried torching something? It ended up with an eviction notice."

"I'm not gonna do it in the apartment this time."

"Doing it by someone else's apartment isn't any better."

"When did you become the voice of reason?"

"There always has to be one sane Salvatore brother around, I'm taking one for the team."

"That sounds oddly suspicious."

"If you get evicted from this apartment as well, where the hell am I going to crash every week?"

"The girls' place, turns out they take strangers in all the time."

"They did let me in to their apartment when they barely even knew me."

"And Caroline let me sleep in Bonnie's bed last night."

Damon's eyebrows rose to the top of his forehead.

"Well, I wasn't going to sleep in her bed." He explains.

"Mistake number one."

"Wouldn't have done it if I wasn't so drunk and sad."

"Mistake number two, girls love it when guys are vulnerable."

"You sound like a predator."

"Don't I always?"

"Stop it."

"Okay fine, It was a joke. Geez."

"And you act surprised when girls slap you."

"Caroline didn't slap me, she karate chopped me in the face, my eye is still bruised."

"Your eye is fine and she barely even touched you."

"Standing up for your girlfriend I see, how cute."

"She is not my-" he stopped himself and sat back down. "I'm going home now, you should too."

"Oh come on, we're bonding, it's Salvatore brothers night!"

"it's five in the afternoon." Stefan says while rolling his eyes. He throws a fifty on the table and proceeds to put on his coat.

"Salvatore brothers afternoon tea, then."

"Your liver would fail from shock."

He pats Damon on the back and is out of the door. His brother is yelling out some stuff about their brotherly bond while the other guests laugh in delight. Damon, forever the crowd's favorite.

He walks around for a while longer, partially because he needs the fresh air, but mostly because he doesn't want to risk running in to Rebekah at the apartment. It's been three hours and forty-five minutes, he calculates it precisely. Unless she is somehow packing every single thing she owns separately, it is safe to say she is out.

He takes the stairs up to the apartment instead of the elevator to buy himself some extra time, just in case. He stands in front of the door for a few moments, holding his breath. His elderly neighbor walks out of the opposite apartment and looks at him like he's a lunatic for standing outside of his own apartment and listening in. He sends her a polite smile anyways.

"Are you alright son?"

He nods and returns his attention back to the door. The woman mutters something under her breath about the youth these days and goes on with her business.

He counts to ten in his head and pushes the door open. It is locked. He almost laughs at himself. All of the tension leaves his body, he is overcome with a feeling of serenity and relaxation. He doesn't remember the last time he felt anything close to that. He fumbles for his key and finally lets himself in.

The first thing he notices is how tidy the place actually is when there's no cardigans or yoga matts scattered around. No abandoned half empty blender by the sink to drive him crazy. No inspirational quote pillows to annoy him._ Who's idea was that anyway? Did Gandhi really die so people could quote him on a pillow?_

He takes off his coat and falls back on the couch, he figures now is as good time as ever to ponder about life and have an existential crisis. Before he even has the time to form a single anxiety inducing thought, his phone buzzes and brings him back to reality.

Maybe it's Rebekah, passively aggressively telling him to fuck off one last time. It could be Damon, making up some emergency to get him back to the bar and drinking with him.

Caroline.

His heart skips a beat as soon as he reads the first letter of her name. He's tried his best not to think about her since he left their place this morning. Last night messed with his head more than he anticipated.

The whole thing was taking its toll on him, the energy he had to put in to not thinking about her made him question if _ignorance is bliss_ was the best approach to this situation.

_\- I can't believe you're leaving me alone with these jackasses. Not cool. _

Her message read, with an attached photo of Mike and Tyler. Mike was sipping on a pink cocktail with three little umbrellas in while Tyler appeared to be wearing -or at least trying to wear- Caroline's denim jacket. He cracked a little smile; it hasn't even been a day but he already kind of missed them. In the span of the last two years he hadn't taken more than a day off work. It felt weird staying home on what was usually one of the busiest days for them.

_\- Feels weird, but it's a must at this point. Tyler looks hot._

_\- I have this theory he always wears things two sizes smaller than he has to for the sole purpose of looking more buffed and fit._

_\- You're just jealous he's the hottest person working there and you have to live in his magnificent shadow._

_\- I hardly disagree on that matter but lets leave it with that._

_How is your existential crisis going? Did you start asking questions to strangers on online forums yet?_

He winces at the accuracy of her guess.

\- _I'm going with no_

_\- And I'm taking that as a yes!_

He doesn't look at his phone for a few minutes and simply exists in the moment. There's this jaw aching smile creeping on his lips and he almost feels bad for feeling so good so soon. _Aren't people supposed to be fully miserable when faced with a big breakup?_ He expected grief, anger, regrets, tears even. Feeling this peaceful wasn't even an option on that list.

His eyes roam the room for a little and stop on the brown leather rucksack in the far-right corner. His trusty old camera. The very reason he wanted to move here in the first place.

His mind is flooded with flashbacks of the excitement at all the locations he could use to shoot, the amazing scenery that captivated him at first glance. He had been so busy with working and real life in general, he shut that passion down completely.

He pulls himself up and drags his feet over to the bag, kneeling down and carefully unpacking it. The lens could use a clean-up but aside from that, everything seems in near perfect condition.

He stretches his hand over to the couch and grabs his phone, rapidly typing out a new message to Caroline.

\- _What are you doing today after work?_

He fumbles with the camera a bit more while waiting for a reply.

\- _Getting a donut and that's literally it._

_\- How would you feel about modelling for an aspiring young photographer on his impromptu NY comeback shoot?_

_\- Depends…am I at least getting a donut out of that deal?_

He smirks and types back excitedly.

\- _You can get __**all**__ of the donuts!_

_\- In that case…pick me up at 7?_

_\- Got you. Sax?_

_\- No, the apartment. I wanna go home and change first._

_\- I'll ring you._

_\- Do not, I repeat, DO NOT come empty handed!_

* * *

"I don't know what to wear."

She storms in half an hour later.

Bonnie looks up from her ice-cream to see what the fuss is about.

"Where?"

"I have a thing, like a photoshoot thing."

Her friend stops midway of wanting to shove a huge spoonful of ice-cream in her tiny little mouth. _Bonnie's always been very ambitious._

"Wait what? Where? What for?"

Caroline is already in her room, frantically going over her closet, throwing things behind her in a not so neat heap on the floor.

"Stefan…Stefan needs help for a comeback project."

Bonnie immediately smirks. It's like watching a romantic comedy develop in real life and the two main characters couldn't be more oblivious. Well, Caroline couldn't be, Stefan might. He seemed more internally tortured than usual this morning, initially she assigned it to his breakup, but now that she thinks about it, it could very much be the unresolved tension with Caroline.

"How very noble of you…helping your dear _friend_ out."

"Stop it."

She emerges from her room with a warning look. Bonnie bites her lower lip trying her best to stay serious when all she wants to do is giggle. This is a nice distraction from her own mess. Right on que, her phone lights up. She sees his name on the screen and huffs.

"Just give up already." She says out loud.

Caroline stands behind her and catches the name on the screen. Taking in to account the whole tub of ice-cream and the entire chocolate bouquet Stefan sent in (that is now gone) it was best to give Bonnie some extra time to deal with whatever she had to.

Caroline clears her throat for Bonnie to register her presence but says nothing on the matter. Bonnie won't admit something is going on with Damon if it's the last thing she has to do so she'll have to resort to getting all the information out of Stefan.

It's not the brightest idea considering Stefan's observation skills and interest in other people's love life or even acknowledging the idea of it, but she'll have to try.

"Did you decide?"

Bonnie asks and takes back her spoon, her phone safely tucked away on the other side of the couch. A documentary on bees is on, but even though her eyes are glued to the screen, her focus is somewhere else.

"Yeah…hey."

She sits on the arm of the couch and nudges Bonnie with her shoulder.

"Do you want me to just stay in and maybe watch a movie or something?"

Bonnie's eyes snap right at her.

"What? Why?"

Caroline slides down next to her so they are shoulder to shoulder and puts her feet up on the little coffee table, mimicking Bonnie's position.

"Ever since we got here we've both been so caught up in our own things and running around…we haven't hung out properly since Mystic Falls and I think that's really depressing."

Bonnie sighs.

"You're worried about me, aren't you? Is this what it's about?"

"Nope." That was so lamely executed she wouldn't even believe herself. "Okay, yes. You're starting a new job tomorrow and you had this big -huge- thing yesterday and amazing things are happening to you, I just want to be there for you and support you, not from afar, but for real, you know?"

"And big things are happening for you as well-"

Caroline glares at her.

"Stop that, they are. Just look at you and-" She stops herself before saying Stefan and guiltily bites down on her lip.

"Me and?" She sighs and shakes her head. "It doesn't even matter, I don't want to talk about me…I just really want to check on you. I knew what we were getting in to and you've followed me here and, as weirdly as this sounds, I don't want us to break up like Stefan and Rebekah." She whines.

Bonnie's eyebrows furrow to the max. She puts down her ice-cream and straightens up, squinting at Caroline.

"Care, you had me and you lost me."

"She followed him to New York so he could fulfill his dreams and she thought she'd be happy but she turned out to be miserable and she despised him for it. Call me crazy, but I don't want you to despise me in the future."

"That's because she had no dreams of her own that she could pursue here…but me?" She laughs in delight, her eyes sparkling at Caroline "Look at me…I'm living my best life here. Things could not have gone better if I wanted them to."

"Good." Caroline breathes out a sigh of relief and takes a hold of Bonnie's ice-cold hand. That girl has the worst blood circulation. "That's good."

"Would you relax? Life is going really well for us, is that really so hard to believe?"

Caroline raises her brows. "Well…okay fine, it's not. We deserved this, more importantly we worked really hard for this."

"Enough of this, there's a really handsome aspiring photographer waiting for your pretty ass to come down and inspire him."

Caroline rolls her eyes.

"I'll gladly blow him off if you're in need of company."

"We live together now, every night is girl's night. Go get ready!"

Caroline drags herself off the couch and stands in front of Bonnie, Damon popping in to her mind.

"Fine, but hey…you'll tell me if things go wrong and you find yourself in trouble, right?"

Bonnie eyes her suspiciously, that's oddly specific.

"Suuure?"

Caroline nods and goes back to her room to quickly put something on.

Her phone buzzes, the clock reads seven so it's most definitely him.

She reaches for her phone to reply to Stefan and types a quick reminder of all the things she has to do when she gets home, then shoving it in her back pocket with no intention of checking it for the next few hours.

* * *

**A/N:** For the people complaining they prefere to only read Bonnie/Caroline or any of the boys on their own…this is a **Belvafore** fic, not a Bonnie or a Stefan or just one of the couples fic. It says so in the summary and it is tagged the right way. I know you guys prefer some characters to others, but please respect me as a writer and if you'd like to read a fic that is specifically one character/couple, there are tons of them on FF, AO3, tumblr etc. I love constructive critisism and encourage it, but people complaining they only want to read about one character while clicking on a fic that is meant to feature all **four** of them equally makes no sense.

That aside, thank you so much for your support and reviews, you are all incredibly precious to me and I love you to bits!

Does anyone have an idea of what Damon is hiding from everyone? I'm curious if anyone's picked up on it.

Things to look forward to: Steroline out and about NY, Bamon's first day as work partners! So far you've had little chance to see the couples together and we focused more on each individual character, but from now on it's couples time 😊

If you want sneak peeks and edits, check tumblr every now and then, I post all of those on there.


	10. Can you feel it?

Hi loves! Thank you so much for being patient with me and following this fic for nine chapters before it got to the real deal and that is the coupley stuff. Thanks to everyone who reviews regularly and gives me advice on here and on tumblr, means the world to me. Without further ado, enjoy this chapter 😊

* * *

"Getting real serious, I see."

He's messing with the settings on his camera when she finally appears in front of their flat.

He turns around and grins at her, making her heart positively flutter. Aaah, the good old butterflies in the stomach sensation. She should have drunk one of Bon's green smoothies and kill whatever was left of them. Those motherfuckers have you all giggly and in love then,before you know it, you end up alone, disappointed and broke.

_Geez, when did she become the Debbie Downer?_

Bonnie's sarcasm is surely rubbing off on her.

"Well, I had to or else I'd die of boredom." He feigns exasperation.

"Stop being dramatic, it didn't take that long…"

"It's almost seven thirty."

"Exactly. Almost."

He grins despite himself; he can't help but notice how different she looks from how he's used to seeing her. She's wearing cropped jeans that show off ninety percent of her legs paired with a maroon tee and black boots. She looks all kinds of incredible. He'd never admit it to her though, in his mind he's already thinking of ways to tease and annoy her.

"Come on, the sun is about to set."

She hops in the passenger seat and immediately goes for the radio. Her fingers stop an inch from the buttons, and she looks at him expectantly, silently asking for permission.

"Go ahead, I'm curious."

Her lips spread into a big smile as she whips up her phone from her back pocket.

"So, where are we going?"

"The Brighton beach, it's usually not my first choice, but it's the closest and considering we don't have that much time before the sun sets, it's the best option."

"Well I'm sure you can make the best off it. Actually-"she ponders for a second "-you never showed me any of your work, have you? I have no idea what I got myself into."

"Mostly still life, you'll fit right in."

She smacks him on the arm instantly.

"Hey-"he manages through laughter "-I'm driving here."

She shakes her head and continues scrolling through her playlist to finally settle on a song.

"Aerosmith?"

She nods and closes her eyes, sinking deep into her seat.

"Their music speaks to me on a deeper level."

He glances at her from the corner of his eyes and takes the liberty to stare a second longer, given her eyes are shut.

He can't help but think she is the coolest person alive and he wishes he was a fraction of that so he could admit it to her. He smiles to himself and glues his eyes back to the road.

"When are you coming back?"

What she's actually curious about is the whole Rebekah situation but she knows better than to ask.

"I mean, is this a permanent thing or do you need time and space for your annual existential crisis?"

"You should make t-shirts for that, you did pretty good with the uniform thing."

"S-S-A-E-C-S." She spells it out for him.

"A what now?"

"Stefan Salvatore's Annual Existential Crisis Summit, hosted by Caroline Forbes."

"I feel attacked."

"Is that your brand now?"

"You should be nicer to me, I'm pretty good with Photoshop and you're giving me real power by letting me photograph you."

"All I hear is empty threats."

He rolls his eyes at her.

"I'm taking two weeks off, I have a lot of stuff to figure out."

He says, this time fully serious.

"Stuff?"

"Mhm."

She finally opens her eyes to look at him. He's so damn mysterious. She often wonders what goes on behind it all. He seems to be keeping it together really well, his calm personality unfaltering.

It's a foreign concept for someone who's worn her heart on her sleeve her entire life.

The sun hits his profile and makes his eyes look wildly green; it doesn't help the butterflies she is so determined to shut down. She grabs her phone to distract herself and bussies herself with finding the next track to play.

She has to bite down on her tongue to keep herself from accidentally bringing up Rebekah, but it's self-sabotage. The more she tries to stop thinking about it, the more intense these thoughts get. She constantly has to remind herself it's none of her business.

"Feel tired from work?"

"Huh?" She snaps her head in his direction, only having heard the sound of his voice but not the actual words. "Sorry, I got a little distracted, you were saying?"

He chuckles and repeats his question, his eyes never leaving the road.

"Oh, I'm fine. I'm used to it; it was much worse at Mystic Falls actually."

"Really?" He is genuinely surprised with that. She doesn't talk much about home. It's a sore subject for both of them. However, the place she used to work at seems to hold some of her favorite memories.

Sure enough, most of her stories revolve around her being frustrated or annoyed with the people she had to deal with, but it makes her grin from ear to ear, nevertheless.

"Yeah, it was hectic most of the time. There were days when I would work for 11 hours straight, go home for a nap and come back to finish the night shift." She sighs. "We had really poor management."

"Did it ever occur to you to switch to another job? I know it's a small town, but there had to be something else, doesn't Bonnie's family have a shop?"

A sad little look marres her usually cheerful face.

"No, I preferred it that way. You know, less time at home and more time anywhere else."

He finally takes his eyes off the road to fully look at her. She smiles to him, but it's not a happy smile, it's tired and sad.

"I'm sorry."

"No, don't be. The last thing I want is for people to feel sorry for me."

"I didn't mean it like that, Care."

"No, I know you didn't. I just… I like to think that in the grand scheme of things it made me a better person. I mean, that's all that matters, for us to evolve and grow as people, right?"

It's an honest question, he can hear the vulnerability in her voice. He nods silently to agree with her.

"I wish more people had the same mentality."

She gives him another sad smile and relaxes back in her seat.

"You know what- "she reaches for the radio and starts raising the volume "-our conversations always end up sad and depressing, and there's no time for that today. I'm putting a ban on it!"

"That sounds serious."

"It is."

He can't help but chuckle at her determination.

"It's not funny."

"It's a little funny."

She sends him one of her death glares and rolls her eyes, but he can see the little upturn of her lips and it's enough to satisfy him.

They spend the rest of the ride in comfortable silence, for the most part.

They manage to listen over exactly two and a half songs even though they could have listened to the entire album had it not been for Caroline's pickiness.

"I just know there's a song we could enjoy much more than the current one, but I have to hear it first to know. You can't just pick one randomly, you have to feel it."

"Nonsense, I mean they are a part of your playlist, which means you liked them enough to put them there at some point. Just pick one."

"And listen to them randomly? Like some kind of a psychopath?"

"You are unbelievable."

"You're incredibly reckless."

"Yeah, putting your phone on shuffle is right there with other law-breaking activities."

They arrive mere minutes before the sunset which makes Stefan that much more excited. Sunset photographs are his favorite, especially ones like this, with pink and orange hues in the sky. He sighs contently and starts taking out his equipment while Caroline looks around a bit.

There are not many people around; other than a couple with a puppy and another one with a child, they are the only ones there.

"You were right, it is kind of beautiful." She beams and looks around some more. "Especially the little lifeguard tower."

"Yeah, we can play around with that."

He joins her by the wooden construction, ideas popping into his mind like crazy. His blood is pumping through his veins with high intensity, and he can barely hold in his excitement.

"You know what? I wasn't sure on the scenery and your ideas, so I brought a change of clothes." She exclaims. "Just give me a minute, it will be worth it, I promise."

She excitedly skips over to the car, pulling out things from her bag and sliding into the back seat, only to pop her head from around the door to warn him.

"Don't look!"

He raises his hands in surrender and turns around immediately, a stupid grin plastered over his face.

He sets up the camera and starts messing with the settings to get everything right when he hears her approaching again. She pops her head behind his shoulder, her lips puckered and a slight furrow between her brows.

"What's happening here?"

"I'm adjusting the brightness and the contrast so I can get better color payoff from the sunset and you know, to make sure the brightness isn't too much."

"You mean so the sun doesn't outshine me?" She jokes, her chin now resting on his right shoulder, he can feel her soft breath on the side of his cheek. He has to remind himself to breathe.

"That could never happen." It comes out of his mouth despite himself. He turns around just slightly, so his cheek touches hers, but she doesn't move away. They stare at each other with more intensity than ever before. It makes him heat up in every way possible.

She finally cracks a little smile and breaks the contact, but he's unable to drop his stare.

He watches on as she goes around him to try and climb up the lifeguard house. She's changed into a colorful shirt and a longer flowing skirt that looks mesmerizing when she walks.

That's when it hits him.

_He likes her. _

He really, really,_ really_ likes her.

Her hair. Her eyes. Her smile, ugh, her goddamn smile. The way that she talks. The way that she dresses. The way she carries herself. Her unfaltering optimism. Her humor. Her _everything._

He can't lie to himself anymore, there's nothing he can do to justify it to himself like he's tried doing for the past few weeks. He can no longer blame it on wanting something he can't have, now that Rebekah is out of the picture. It's not an act of rebellion and it's not something he can keep ignoring.

He actually likes himself when he's around her. How crazy is that?

"It's like I'm not even here."

Her voice brings him back, urging him to look at her. She's at the top of the little white house, trying to get his attention.

"Huh?"

"We're going to miss it!"

"Miss what?"

"The sunset?"

"Oh."

Her eyes narrow suspiciously which reminds him that this is not the time or place for him to be sorting out his feelings, he needs to snap out of it before she starts asking questions he'd like to avoid. This all of a sudden, stomach dropping realization will have to wait a little longer.

"Sorry. Yeah, we should start."

She stays in place, still giving him the look.

"I'm ready." He finally brings the camera up to him. "Are you comfortable? We can do some test shots first to get you in the mood."

She doesn't strike him as camera shy, or else she wouldn't have agreed to this in the first place, but he asks anyway. You always have to ask, always.

He finds it that people turn out best when they are fully relaxed and unaware of themselves. It's when their true colors come through. He wants to try and get it out of her as well, so he makes it a task to get that bubbly energy to shine through the lens and capture it forever.

"Don't worry about me, I'm living my best life right now." She beams down at him. Beautiful.

"Alright then, listen." He brings the camera up and gets ready to shoot. "Don't worry about posing or doing something specific, just relax and go about your business, try to pretend I'm not even here."

"That's what I do on a daily basis so it shouldn't be that hard."

"Ha-ha."

She smiles teasingly and her face changes to a more determined expression. She pushes her hair behind her shoulders and relaxes just like he instructed.

"Great." He murmurs as he starts snapping, that adrenaline rush running through him, filling his heart to the fullest. He's having so much fun he forgets about his realization for a brief moment.

It's just the two of them, his camera and the beautiful scenery. He couldn't have orchestrated it better if he tried.

She's absolutely effortless in what she's doing, making every picture look natural and raw. It prompts him to start asking questions, even though he asked her to pretend he wasn't there.

"Have you done this before?"

"A few times."

"Really?"

He's genuinely surprised, but then again, not really. Who wouldn't want to photograph her?

"Mhm. I've done a couple of shoots for my friend Jeremy back in high school, but that was just for a project and they were godawful."

He keeps taking pictures as she tells him the story, getting the most genuine expressions from her.

"It was junior year, I think. I had these awful bangs and two hot pink highlights, that at the time I thought were the coolest things ever. It was incredibly emo; I can't look back at those without cringing."

He laughs at her story wholeheartedly. It's hard to imagine her looking any less than perfectly made up, but the thought of little emo Caroline doing an extra dramatic shoot for a high school project is extremely amusing.

"I have to get my hands on those."

"You can pry them from my cold dead hands, asshole."

"A few more of those chocolate bouquets and I can get myself an inside man."

"Bonnie would never, she knows she can't hurt the bro code."

"You guys have a bro code?"

"Sure thing. What, just because we're girls, we can't have a bro code?"

"I would never make such a bold assumption."

"Lollipops!"

Her eyes jump out as she exclaims out of nowhere, making him put down his camera in confusion.

"Did you have a stroke or something?"

She climbs down the ladder and points to the other side of the beach where a small candy stand is positioned.

"They have the swirly colorful ones, my mom always let me buy one on 4th of July when we'd go down to the beach."

It's the first time she mentions her mother in what sounds like a fond memory. Her smile never breaks. A childlike innocence fills her eyes and his heart hurts a bit at how precious she is.

"I have to go get one. Do you want one?"

He shakes his head no and watches in amusement. She comes back very quickly with extra bounce to her step. The candy is almost the size of her head and matches her clothes perfectly which makes the whole thing even more amazing.

"Wait, wait! I want to get a shot of this."

She poses with the candy and makes a few faces at him, then digs in not being able to wait any longer. He puts the camera down deciding it's time for a break, they've been shooting nonstop for the past hour and a half. He has enough material to edit for days. He plops down on to the warm sand and she follows suit.

He leans his head back, feeling the tension leave his body inch by inch.

Caroline glances at him and almost finds herself drooling. She averts her look to the crashing waves before her and decides it's best to just look ahead.

But it's impossible. He is so close, and she is so tired of ignoring all of these feelings she's pushed to the back of her mind. They're going to spill sooner or later and it's going to be disastrous.

Emotions are one thing; she's used to pushing those back, but physical attraction? She finds that one nearly impossible to ignore with him anymore. She wants him. It's nothing new.

She was sure of it twenty minutes in to their first conversation. The way that his lips moved and his jaw tightened every so often, his strong hands, his telling eyes, and the hair. God, the hair. She can't count all the times she thought about running her fingers through it, then grabbing it down to pull him into a mind-numbing kiss.

Her eyes wander without a second thought and land on his jaw, she traces down the line to his neck and then his chest. He stirs a little and catches her eye. Blood rushes to her cheeks and she looks away instantly, but if she's being completely honest, she's probably going to do it again.

Not now though, she can't stand a second of that smug smile that is surely plastered over his face upon the realization she can't in fact, keep her eyes off him.

Usually she ignores it and lets him be, but today she is feeling playful. She takes the lollypop out her mouth and holds it up in front of him.

"Try it." She commands, her eyes piercing his daringly.

The corners of his lips twitch upwards. She expects him to refuse but instead he leans forward and puts his lips around the top, his eyes never breaking from hers.

Her heart skips and the only thing she can feel is the throbbing in her underwear and the wild urge to grab his stupid smug face and smash it against her own. Her breathing gets heavier and she barely blinks. She isn't sure how she's even holding up the damn thing. Her whole trying to one-up him game backfired.

He takes his sweet time with tasting it and moves away slowly, licking his lips when he settles back in place.

"Mmm." He murmurs contently to himself.

He knows. He's driving her absolutely crazy and he's so aware of it.

Her brain goes into overdrive, thinking of her next move. Her eyes never leave his, if anything, the looks intensify, making breathing harder with every shuttering breath she takes.

She gasps but it's not over something he did or said, it's due to the fact little droplets of rain start sliding down her cheek, growing with intensity by the very second. They look up in sync, the sky above them is taking on a dangerously grey hue.

Stefan grunts and gets up quickly, taking her hand in his and swiftly getting her to her feet with him.

"You should go wait in the car, your clothes will get ruined." He says but she can barely hear him over the heavy rain.

She ignores him and helps him pack up the cameras. Thankfully the car is parked a few steps away and everything is in place in no time.

He ruffles his hair and grunts, annoyed that it's already fully wet. He's about to hop in, expecting Caroline to already be seated and belted up but the car is empty. It doesn't take long for him to spot her.

"Are you out of your mind?"

She's spinning around in circles, her palms turned up to the sky, giggling into oblivion. Up until he met her, he was sure beings like her were mythical and only found in books or hidden places. He was definitely not ready to find one in New York.

"Just how long has it been since you've stood out in the rain and lived in the moment, Stefan?"

"You mean how long has it been since I've tried to actively get pneumonia? I don't know, never."

He can see her rolling her eyes even through the heavy rain and it brings a smile to his face despite himself. She's so carefree it's hard to look away. She gives him an inviting look to which he shakes his head almost instantly.

"No. Get in the car. Now."

She pouts and puts her hands on her hips with determination. He knows this look, he's been on the other side of it many times in the last few weeks and he is fully aware he doesn't stand a chance.

"Only if you catch me."

He doesn't have time to scowl at her because she is gone in the direction of the lifeguard house. He sighs deeply, wishing he had her determination but knows he doesn't, and he'll do anything she wants him to because, well, it's her.

He follows her up to the little wooden house where she is leaned on the railing, smiling victoriously at him. She is completely drenched but in true Caroline fashion she seems unbothered by it.

The rain slowed down a tiny bit making it easier to focus on other things. Things like her wet clothes clinging on her body for dear life. He forgets about the cold and the rain and everything instantaneously.

"There." He speaks hoarsely, his voice is much deeper than usual. "You win, I climbed up, I am soaked. Now can we go home?" He says pleadingly.

"You still need to catch me."

There's a switch in her eyes, the playfulness is replaced by something raw and he swears her eyes darken, at least in his mind they do. He daringly takes a step forward, expecting her to swiftly move out of sight once again and make him go after her.

She doesn't move an inch, she just stays leaned against the railing, her eyes piercing through him.

He takes another bold step and another and another, prompting her to move to the side seemingly trying, but then again not really trying at all to avoid him. She backs herself into a corner with the railing on one side of her and the wall of the little house on the other.

It is then when his doubts dissolve in his mind. She wants this just as much as he does. He doesn't feel the need to overthink it any longer. Her eyes soften, and she looks inviting, oppose to her usual guarded state.

He takes that final step towards her, backing her up against the wall with no where to go. His palm lands on the wall next to her head and he towers over her for a moment, his eyes asking for the permission one last time.

She pushes herself of the wall, so her chest is fully against his and it's all he can take. His hand dives behind her, pulling her closer against him and she kisses him before he has a chance to start the kiss himself.

It's hungry and fast and heated. It's everything they've been holding back since they met. The feeling of pure release washes over him, making his head spin. It's not enough, he wants to stop to look at her but pulling away from her seems almost impossible, so he deepens the kiss instead.

His hands find their way around her, shifting from her messy hair, down to her neck, her shoulders and her back where her shirt hikes up making him feel her bare skin under his fingertips. He glides his hand under it, moving slowly up her spine which elicits a moan from the back of her throat.

Her hands are up in his hair pulling him as close as she possibly can. They have to break the kiss eventually and come up for air.

It feels like a punch to the face when the contact is broken.

His forehead remains pressed to hers as they try to collect their breaths. She finally loosens her grip on him, sliding her hands down his shoulder and letting them rest on his heaving chest. They stare at each other with the same intensity as before. It is Caroline who breaks first with a chuckle.

"How long have you been wanting to do that?" She asks boldly, her eyes never leaving his.

His hand slides down her spine making her shudder. He reaches behind to pull her shirt back in place and rests his hand on the small of her back. He smiles down at her, making her want to die at how irresistible he is. Even more now that she's had a taste of him.

"A while."

She has to bite the insides of her cheeks to stop herself from grinning like an idiot. She pushes lightly against his chest, making them both move a few steps.

"Come on." She walks around him, trying to act as nonchalant as possible.

She notices he isn't following and turns around to face him. His eyebrows are raised in amusement.

"Now you want to go home?" He teases.

She breaks into a chuckle and shrugs her shoulders feigning a loss of interest.

"Well, you caught me, didn't you?"

* * *

"Shit. Shit. Shit."

She gets a judging look from an elderly woman, but she can't afford to care. The ironic part in all of it is the fact she got up an hour and a half early so she could get herself ready and still make it to work ahead of time and now she was running late.

She even steamed her pencil skirt for god's sake.

Her heels cluck loudly on the marble floor when she enters the building and she remembers she is no longer in her old office when she's halfway there.

She turns around and sets for the main counter to get her pass sorted out. The creepily stunning woman who she met on her first day patiently waits for her to fish out her ID.

"I swear it's somewhere in here." She chuckles nervously but the woman doesn't budge. Bonnie wishes she remembered her name. What was it? Irina? Isobell?

"Got it." She exclaims victoriously and hands her the little card. The woman raises her brow in surprise at something on her laptop screen and looks back at Bonnie.

"It says here you start a new position today; this means you finally get a pass for all the upper floors…well, not the 15th floor, but all the rest."

"What happens on floor 15, you kill people there?" Bonnie tries to joke but it falls flat with Irina, or whatever her name is.

"Take care of this and don't lose it." She warns seriously. "We can't copy it, it has your personal serial number and there can be only one of it."

"I'll take good care of it."

She doesn't look too convinced.

"I promise."

She presses her teeth together to stop herself from making a snarky comment and takes the new pass with extra caution, not wanting to drop it and look even more of an idiot in front of Miss Judgy. God, she was starting to sound like Damon.

"Your new office is on floor 10."

"Got it." Bonnie nods and heads for the elevator, there's no way in living hell she's walking up ten flights of stairs in these shoes.

It doesn't take long to find the new office due to the fact that the entire building is so well thought off and everything is marked up impeccably. The sterile white interior used to creep her out but now that she's been here for a while, she's gotten used to it. She actually likes being here. There's some commotion going around the floor ans he hears what sounds like a hammer, but that makes no sense what so ever so she decides to ignore it.

She gets in and wants to pinch herself. It's the size of her and Caroline's apartment and then some more. Decorated like the rest of the building with white wooden and leather furniture and an occasional silver statement piece.

"You're late."

"Jesus Christ." She jumps back at the voice, her hand immediately going up to her heart. He comes out of the office bathroom, throwing away a piece of paper towel he was using to dry his hands off.

"Calm your horses, it's just me."

"Damon?! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Working." He says simply and takes a seat at one of the tables. Huh. Tables. There are two. When she takes a closer look at it, there's two of everything.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Not my first choice either, believe me."

"Enzo said we'd each have our own office, no one has ever mentioned-"

"Have you taken a look around, Bonnie?"

She stares at him, dumbfounded. He rolls his eyes at her lack of observation skills.

"The entire floor is under renovation, except for this office. They left it out so we could work."

"So what?" She sounds annoyed, but it's really her starting to panic at the thought of having to spend days on end in here with him, she's not ready for that. "This building is huge, there's literally hundreds of other offices."

"Yet here I am." He smiles bitterly. "Don't you think I'd be somewhere else by now if there was another option?"

"I don't know, would you?"

He sighs exasperatedly.

"I know that in your head I'm some kind of a villain who's only goal in life is to make yours a living hell, but trust me, Bonnie, this is not my doing. That should help you sleep at night."

She's taken aback by the anger in his voice and finds herself confused at the whole situation. Is this his way of getting her back for ignoring him and being mad at him? Is this reverse psychology? Or maybe she's overthinking it and he really doesn't care anymore. She doesn't know which stings more.

"I'm calling Enzo." She says out of desperation and pulls out her phone.

"Do you think I haven't tried?"

"I'm calling him." She says with determination and he raises his hands in surrender.

She turns her back on him, focusing on the view from the window instead while waiting for Enzo to pick up.

_"Bonnie, I'm kind of in a rush."_

"I'm calling about the office situation."

She doesn't need to give out any further detail.

_"Yeah, I apologize for the inconvenience, I know you were promised an office to yourself-"_

"It's not about wanting an office to myself." She realizes Damon can hear every word she says so she lowers her voice, speaking barely above a whisper. "It's just that…ugh. Can't we work apart, is it really that important for us to-"

_"Yes."_ He cuts her off before she can say anything more._ "This is teamwork. Every paper you sign, he has to sign first, every contract you go over, you have to go over it together, everything you do, he's already done it or will do it with you."_

"I understand, but-"

_"I have full faith in you making it work."_

"That's a lot of faith."

_"I have to hang up now, we'll talk soon, I promise."_

She can't even say goodbye; the line is cut off.

She sighs deeply, trying to put herself together and not flip over this.

"Told you."

She turns around slowly. He's leaned back in his chair, his eyes glued to the paper in his hand and a pencil between his teeth.

She returns to what seems to be her table, defeated.

She takes a few moments to collect herself, giving herself a mental pep talk. She hasn't even started working and it already feels like it's weighing down on her. Her doubts come crashing back, fears of not doing enough, of not being good enough. If it's stressing her out so much and it hasn't even started yet, is she simply wasting everyone's time?

Enzo put so much trust in her. The bare thought of letting anyone down makes her feel sick to her stomach. She takes a few deep breaths, trying not to be too obvious in her little mental breakdown and get unwanted attention.

"I'm getting coffee, you want something?"

She murmurs a quiet 'no', her chair is facing opposite of him, so she doesn't have to face him. She is starting to feel bad about lashing out on him the other night. She'd been so tired and emotionally drained it didn't take much to get on her bad side.

It still hurt her ego to find that he had someone else when he was acting so…single around her. Still, it wasn't an excuse to go off on him like that.

The worst part was her being aware she must apologize in order for them to move on and get over it all together, but she can't.

He sent multiple messages, she answered none. He even tried calling, she ignored it. She's been so stubborn about it she didn't know how to stop and make it better.

He's back before she knows it and drops off a little pink wrapper on her table as he passes her. It's a small candy bar with some sort of an inspirational quote printed in pretty letters on the wrapper.

'_You can do it', it says._

She chuckles despite herself.

"What's that for?"

"You look like you need it."

She opens her lips to speak but no words come out. This gentle, caring side of him is not something she's used to. It's not something she even thought he was capable off. There he is, being nice and thoughtful to her when she doesn't deserve it at all, being all judgmental and mad at him for an honest mistake.

She shifts in her seat and thinks of ways to approach him and try to voice an honest apology for her unreasonable behavior, but it seems like the hardest task she's ever had to do.

"Bonnie."

Her head snaps in his direction, heat sneaking up her cheeks instantly.

"Huh?"

"Enzo said a great deal of you and your work ethic, but I'm starting to think he was enticed by something else." He stretches from his seat and throws a huge bunt of contracts on her desk. "And by that I mean, if you're just going to sit here, looking pretty, this isn't going to work out."

"Yeah I-" Her cheeks were on fire. Gosh, she wasn't used to this. No,no. No! She is actually good at this stuff, she is known for her impeccable work ethic. She has to focus, now. "I'm sorry. I know I'm lagging but that stops right now."

She reaches over for those contracts and her hands form fists in determination.

"Right. Contracts."

* * *

It turns out to be one of the longest days in her working life.

She struggles and she winces in frustration more times than she can count. Damon tries to cut in and help, but she refuses most of it. It's nothing personal, she explains. She is a _figure it out on my own_ type of girl, no matter the cost. Damon reminds her the cost is pretty high at this point, but she asks for a little more patience and a whole lot of faith.

"We can finish those tomorrow, it's getting really late."

"I'm almost done."

He looks over at her. Her belongings are sprawled out over the table, you can barely see her tiny frame behind all of those papers.

"You're at page 171 Bonnie, the contract has 520." He points out as he stands over her. He puts his hands flat out on the table, covering the contract and urging her to look at him. "It's late, time to go home."

She sighs with disappointment and finally gives up. She pushes herself from the table and spins a few times in her office chair.

"I'm a disappointment."

"Bonnie…"

"I am. Nothing you say will change that."

Damon ponders for a few seconds. She's right, there's nothing he can say that she won't turn in to another negative thing about her and put herself down, but he still feels the need to try. He knows better than anyone how merciless this business can get.

"Why are you even still here?"

"What else am I supposed to do Bon, leave you wallowing in your despair till you lose it? We're on the tenth floor, easy to jump off." He teases to ease her nerves.

"No need for that, this job will kill me on its own."

He can't help but chuckle at how dramatic she looks and sounds, draped carelessly over her chair while slowly sliding off it. Much like her mood.

"It's not funny."

"It's a little funny."

She gives him the dead eye and turns around to face the windows instead of him, a strategy that's worked wonders today.

"Also- "she turns around, her brows furrowed "-don't call me Bon, you've lost your right to that nickname when you decided to betray me."

His eyes jump out at the admission.

"Betray you?"

"Did I stutter?"

Apparently, tired and frustrated Bonnie has an attitude. It's beyond amusing to him, something she is very aware of and it makes her even more frustrated and cranky.

"Betray you how?"

"No, no, no. We're not playing this game."

She turns around in her chair only to find him standing above her desk, leaning forward.

"Good. I'm not the type to play games."

Her heart does that jumpy thing again and she straightens her posture to appear more serious.

"You are the textbook definition of the type to play games."

"Yet here you are, making bold statements and refusing to back them up with evidence when asked to do so."

She grits her teeth and bolts up.

"Fine."

He raises his brows and nods to her, urging her to continue.

"You lied to me and it really hurt." She says calmly. "It prompted me to overreact a little."

"A little?" He squints his eyes at her.

"Okay a bunch." She rolls her eyes.

He finally takes a step back from her desk and walks back to sit atop of his. His legs dangle playfully, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips. God he's enjoying this so much.

"Funny, I didn't really hear an apology in all of this, like not even a tiny little one." He emphasizes with his index and thumb.

"Well I didn't hear one from you either."

"Uh, excuse me?"

"The one on the spot doesn't count."

"Fine, what about- "he waves his phone in her face.

"So what, you sent a few texts. Big deal." She exaggerates dramatically. The air is light again, and they are back to their playful banter. She's beyond thankful for it. Everything aside, Damon is good company, someone she likes having around her, no matter how much he annoys her at times. Well, all the time.

He is suspiciously quiet for a while, which unsettles her but she decides to wait it out. She sits back and starts fiddling with her hair. It doesn't take long for him to spill it out.

"Why would you even care that much?"

"Huh?"

"For real, why would you care for everything that went down. I thought you hated me."

"I never said that." She says with a bite to it.

"That tone isn't very convincing."

In a weird way, there's something exhilarating about the way her jaw tightens and how visibly annoyed she is by him. The thought that she cares enough puts a smile on his face as big as it can be. Just like every other feeling he's ever had towards her, he decides not to give it too much weight, but the joy he gets from simply being around her is making it harder for him to ignore that he, in fact, does feel _something_.

"Hate is a really strong word…dislike, however, fits just perfectly."

"Hmmm, sure it's not the fact that you're secretly in love with me?"

It's a joke, he's messing with her, but it doesn't help the fact that her heart just about jumps out of her chest and her cheeks turn crimson. She retaliates quickly, before he gets a chance to pick up on it.

"Says the man who sent me 7 apology messages in a span of three hours." She mocks back and hopes he is so distracted by her response, he fails to notice how nervous and vulnerable she really is at the accusation.

His palm reaches for his chest.

"Ouch."

"Clingy."

"Robot."

"Whiny."

"Wanna grab some drinks?"

"Huh?"

She stares at him wide-eyed.

"After work drinks. Happy hour?" She still stares at him like he's mad. "Friendly drinks, Bonnie."

"Oh." She snaps out of it and shakes her head. "Of course, what else would it be." She laughs nervously. _Jesus, woman, get it together. _

He raises his brows expectantly.

"It's a little late." She hesitates.

"Nonsense." He gets up, grabbing his stuff and her own coat and purse along the way, signaling there's really no discussion here. "Come on, you need a change of scenery and I need my weekly dose of hateful banter with my best blonde frenemy."

* * *

"You just had to bring him here."

"He brought me here!" Bonnie says in her defense and takes another sip of her cocktail. "You are getting better at these things." She waves the glass as she compliments her best friend.

"I can hear you, stop talking about me like I'm not here!"

Caroline pouts her lips, looking around and over Damon's head.

"Did y'all hear something?"

He throws a handful of peanuts at her and Bonnie grabs a hold of his hand when he reaches for more.

"You two, stop it right now."

"Okay mooom." Damon mocks.

Caroline starts pulling out peanut shells out of her hair and huffs in Damon's direction. She mouths, what Bonnie presumes is an insult and moves on to another customer, leaving the two of them to themselves.

"There's something going on between her and my brother."

"Right?"

"They're so doing it."

"No way."

"I'm telling you."

"If they were doing it, I'd be the first to know, trust me."

He eyes her suspiciously for a second and pursues his lips.

"What are you whispering about?"

They both straighten up at the sound of Caroline's voice and reply in unison.

"Nothing."

Caroline squints her eyes at them.

"Nothing at all." Bonnie says nonchalantly and clinks her glass with Damon's. "Cheers!"

He immediately joins and downs the rest of his drink. Caroline grabs it on impulse to refill it like usual, but he puts a hand on top, covering it.

She furrows her brows.

"Want something else?" She asks unsure. Bourbon straight up, top it off until he says so, which is usually around his fifth or sixth glass, not the first one.

"Yeah, I'll have a coke."

"Like a Jack and coke or-"

"No, just plain old coke." She stares at him, almost in disbelief and reaches for his bourbon glass. "You do know how to make that, right?"

Her brows shoot up in surprise, she heads for the cooler without another word to hand him his drink and a glass filled with ice. Him and Bonnie ease back to their conversation while she retreats to the secluded stool on the edge of the bar where she usually sits and does things to pass time when there's no customers to serve.

She grabs one of her magazines and a pen, opening the middle where there's usually a crossword. She starts filling it in, but in reality, she's observing the miracle happening before her eyes.

They sit next to one another, their shoulders touching, inching closer as they converse. Bonnie is showing him something on her phone and they laugh at it together. She's positively over the moon, and him? He's not even in their orbit anymore. That's how bad he's fallen for her best friend.

Like, can't take his eyes off her bad. Soaking in her every move bad. Watching her lips as she takes a sip of her drink bad. Smiling from ear to ear at every word that comes out of her mouth bad.

Crying from laughter at her jokes, which, let's be honest, aren't always the best. He checks out every item on Caroline's imaginary _'Does he have the hots for you?'_ list.

Combine that with the fact that he's acting like a total marshmallow and is actually making good life choices, you've got yourself a good starting point.

Caroline smiles to herself, but the smile falters as her eyes catch a glimpse of Elena Gilbert's face in the little article next to the crossword. Her stomach drops. She gives one quick glance back to the pair and can't help but feel a sense of dread.

This is wrong, and like numerous pieces of literature warned her, wrong things often feel so right.

She sighs heavily and shuts down the magazine, she doesn't want to stare at the picture any longer. She doesn't want the picture to stare back at her either. It feels like it's judging her.

"Care-" Bonnie calls out to her, they are getting up "-we're gonna head home now, see you later?"

Caroline nods her head absentmindedly.

"Yeah, o-of course." She stutters. "I'm gonna wipe the place clean and close up, shouldn't be long."

Bonnie smiles and waves goodbye. Damon follows suit with a wink instead of a wave.

She doesn't want to intrude but can't help and peek at them once more behind the glass.

They exchange a hug and Caroline gasps quietly. Bonnie Bennett is **not** a hugger. She's never been one and she has no intentions to become one, her words exactly. She catches shock displaying on Bonnie's own face when Damon pulls her closer, but instead of pushing him away she lets him. Her hands fall by her sides, but the fact that she's even letting him come this close to her is a huge thing.

They part, surprisingly each to their own cab.

The last customer pays their tab and walks out. She smiles widely, trying not to seem like she's ushering him out, but she can't wait to put a lock on that door. She's set on cleaning everything up in hopes it will distract her but to no avail.

That's when it hits her. Elena was seen mingling with some random guy in the last few months. Sure, it's speculation and gossip, but then again, where there's smoke, there's usually a freaking bonfire with these people.

She sighs happily. The countless hours she's spent on the internet, scrolling mindlessly through celebrity gossip are finally going to pay off.

She slams the rag she's using to wipe the counter and dives into her back pocket to get her phone out.

There are two messages from Stefan she's eager to get around to, but it will wait.

She puts her hair up in a bun and opens up a new Google tab. If there's one thing Caroline Forbes is good at, it's digging up and tracking down every single detail about anyone.

And if there's any dirt to be found about Elena Gilbert, well, Caroline is going to be the one to find it.

* * *

*Exhales deeply*

That was a long one and packed with lots of stuff. Please do let me know your thoughts on this chapter, it would mean the world to me as we are diving into couple territory now. Lots of more stuff to come.

Thoughts on Steroline's steamy makeout? Damon turning in to a soft kitten when he's around Bonnie? Caroline figuring it out and going on a mission to end Elena if it means Bonnie gets to have Damon? Could go both ways. I'm eager to hear what you guys think.

Also, there's a gifset of the Bamon/Caroline bar scene on my tumblr so make sure to check it out!

www dot themeetmeatmidnightworld dot com


	11. Discussion

Hello everyone! This isn't a new chapter, so don't get your hopes up, but please do read this.

Over the past few weeks I've gotten quite a few messages and reviews on the issue of couples in this fic. Most of them coming from people who like one of the two couples and don't like the other so they only read half of the chapters. In order to avoid future disappointment and angry messages I would like to discuss it with you guys now and then close the discussion for good.

This is a **Belvafore** fic. That means Bonnie, Stefan, Damon and Caroline. All four of them. Not just Bonnie, not just Stefan or anyone else, all four. It is also made clear that it's going to be Bamon and Steroline. It's not going to be just Bamon. It's not going to be just Steroline. It's going to be both. If you have a problem with that, then this isn't the fic for you.

I really want to listen and do the best that I can to please everyone, but I am not going to change my entire story just because someone isn't in the mood to read Steroline and they annoy them so they skip over to Bamon parts. The same goes for people who came here solely for Steroline.

If you want to read about a certain couple, there are plenty of other amazing fics on here and on other platforms, I would gladly recommend some if you'd guys want that. :)

I really don't understand the concept of coming to a fic tagged with the couple you don't like and whining about it. It's like clicking on a Harry Potter fanfic only to leave a review saying you hated it because it has Harry Potter in it?!

It's pointless.

I would also like to point out that I tagged it for what it is. Steroline and Bamon. **Everything is tagged accordingly**. If you dislike a couple, stop reading fics that feature them, especially ones that have them as center of the story.

I really loved writing Belvafore so far, but to take time every day and really devote myself to writing this fic, only to be met by numerous messages saying they hate it just because they hate one of the couples and they find it boring for the same reason is really discouraging for me and makes me doubt my writing at times. It even made me contemplate whether I should continue this fic or not.

I don't want to sound whiney, but I started out really motivated and excited to write this and it's become really hard to put out a chapter, knowing people will be displeased with it no matter what I write. It feels like I can't win, if I write more about Steroline, Bamon fans will be angry, if I write about Bamon, Steroline fans will be angry, if I write both people will be bored because half of the chapter doesn't interest them…

I know that there are still some loyal Belvafore fans who enjoy this fic no matter what and for that reason, I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Should I continue or wrap it up? This is just the beginning of the story and I have lots planned for it, but what's the point if people don't even enjoy it and only read half of it. I really don't want to shut out one couple and if this continues, it's going to stay Belvafore as intended.

**So, if you could take a minute and leave a review giving me your opinion on this or simply send me a PM, it would mean the world to me.**

Thank you, so, so much! And to everyone who is disappointed, I am incredibly sorry.


	12. Perfect

Thank you for your wonderful support last week, it meant the world to me. We continue with this story in good spirit and lots of Belvafore love!

* * *

"You're late." He mutters, his face hidden behind a paper he is carefully going over. "Again."

"You scared the hell out of me." She sets her purse down and sits back in her comfy office chair. "Again."

"Enzo called."

"I'm on it." She immediately picks up her phone and dials his number. He answers quickly and they go over everything her and Damon must do today. Even though Enzo calls Damon first thing in the morning, he has to check in with Bonnie to confirm everything. It's his way of showing that even though Damon is her boss on paper, Bonnie is really his boss and, well, Enzo is the boss of everyone.

They've developed a steady routine over the past week. He gets in half an hour early, she comes in a minute late, he teases her for it, they bicker. One of them brings the other donuts and coffee and all is well with the world. They do their job, they bicker some more, they finish their job and they go to what Damon likes to call _'Sexy blonde frenemy hour', _which in short is them going over to Caroline's bar and Damon drinking her blood through a straw for at least an hour. They go home, sometimes sharing a cab, sometimes not.

Bonnie would never even admit it to herself, but the ones where they do share a cab are her favorite.

It's been surprisingly easy working with him; he was quick on his feet, organized and very responsible. It was quite a shocker for Bonnie, this was not the Damon she had in mind when all of this started out. One of the many things she got wrong about him.

"I've got everything ready for later, need your signature on the financial report, tho."

"Ready for what?"

He puts the paper down and gives her a _"Really?"_ look. Her eyebrows furrow in confusion. Is it possible that she forgot something once again?

"You actually don't know."

Her mind goes over mental files and happenings she has set for the week, but nothing comes to mind.

He stands up from his seat, throwing a flier on her desk, waiting expectantly for her to connect the dots.

It was a flier for an acoustic performance of one of Damon's kids, as she likes to call them. The young aspiring stars he finds in the least expected places and makes them big, at least for a fleeting moment.

Damon couldn't shut up about this girl in particular, he felt like she was the next big thing and wanted to bring Bonnie along to hear her performance.

"Oooh-" She facepalms herself "-that's today?"

"Yeah, that's today." He grabs the contracts and throws them on her desk. "That is why I need you to sign these so we can finish up early today and go see her."

"Do I have to? I mean there's so much work that needs to be done I just-"

"This is your job now Bonnie, everything we do depends on these kids we find on the street."

She rolls her eyes, he can be so dramatic when he wants to.

"You found her on Instagram. She's not some homeless girl playing for her life."

"But it would be so much better marketing wise if she were." He pondered for a bit, ignoring Bonnie's judging look. "We're doing business here, we're selling someone's image, stop giving me the evil side-eye."

"All I'm saying is, if she's talented enough, she'll find her spotlight eventually."

"You really have no idea how this works, do you?" He shakes his head and grabs her blazer, charmingly throwing it right at her. "Come on, we gotta go."

"What? No, you said it's around five, it's literally nine in the morning right now."

"I have to show you something."

"Is it work related?"

The look on his face confirms it's not even close.

Five minutes later, she finds herself following him around what's left of their building that's under heavy construction. She feels obligated to. With Enzo gone, she is the designated Damon-sitter.

"I don't think we're supposed to be here."

He ignores her concerns and speeds up, taking two steps at a time instead of one, then speeding up some more, stepping over half a flight of stairs in one go instead of climbing up like a normal person.

"What are you, five years old?"

"I don't know, but I do know what you are. Painfully sloooow." He drawls it out for her, looking down at her from the railing that was a floor higher.

"We could have taken the elevator."

"This is faster."

"How on earth is this faster?"

"It would be if you didn't have the stamina of a 90 year old lady. Seriously, do you want me to come down and just pick you up?"

"Damon."

"Throw you over the shoulder and carry you?"

"Damon."

"Give you a piggyback ride?"

"Damon!"

"Drag you up by your hair, caveman style?"

She reaches his level and doesn't hesitate.

"Ouch." He grabs his arm which she so gracefully hit with her little angry fist. "Harassment!"

"You're a walking harassment!"

"Is that really the best you've got?"

She lunges forward, ready to punch his other shoulder and even things out but he ducks successfully much to her dismay.

"Damon, I swear to god-"

"If I got a penny for every time I've heard that."

His pass makes a weird bleeping sound and he gets inside one of the rooms on the floor. It doesn't look very familiar to her, but she is too tired to even notice something seems different. She follows him to the room, ready to hand his ass to him but stops in her tracks when she finally reaches him.

Her mouth falls agape at the view spread in front of them. Dozens and dozens of safes neatly stacked on top of each other, creating row after row from one side of the room to the other. There are no windows in the room and the door is unusually heavy compared to every other entrance in the company.

"Damon-"she stops in her tracks, unsure of whether she can step in or not. "What the hell is this place?"

He looks around to check if they're alone and ushers her in, leaving the door open a tiny bit so it doesn't close on them.

"This is what we like to call _'The safe-keeping room'_." He whispers and walks over to one of the safes, his hand gliding along its shiny metal surface.

"What the hell is _'The safe-keeping room'_?"

He gives her another _'Really?' _look and she sighs.

"You know what I mean, what's going on in here?"

She feels uncomfortable just being there and she doesn't even know why. It must be the whole setting of the room; the blinding unnatural led light, rows and rows of safes, the dark grey walls and the absence of windows, the heavy door. She feels trapped even though she's a step away from the cracked open door.

"This is where we keep our files on everyone we've ever worked with." He turns towards her, looking her straight in the eyes with a mischievous look. "And by files, I mean everything you need to either make someone into a god or ruin their entire career."

She takes a step forward, noticing there are tabs with various names on each of the safe. Many names that are known to her personally.

"And by that, you mean, this is where you keep the dirt on your clients?"

He smiles widely and nods.

"Smart girl."

"Hmm."

He reaches up and presses one of his passes to a safe above them, opening it up and taking out a handful of papers.

"Seems familiar?" He asks as he waves them in her face.

"Wasn't he a senator or something?" She takes the papers in her hand, quickly scanning them over with her eyes. She makes a disgusted face. "Sex with a minor?"

"A 17 year old prostitute to be exact."

She goes over to the next paper, a printed-out email with a news outlet, containing an agreement to publish a story on the said senator's charity work just days after the allegations got out.

"That one took a lot of damage control."

"Wait a minute." She shoves the papers back in his hands and closes her eyes, a million thoughts racing through her mind. "Is this what I'm giving my signature for on your contracts, my name as a stamp of approval for disgusting old perverts who abuse teenage girls?"

He shoves the papers back and closes the safe.

"Relax Bonnie, I do my and other people's dirty work with my own two hands."

She still looks distressed and refuses to even look at him.

"I promise, everything you've ever signed was as wholesome as it can be. No shady business, not on my watch at least."

"Ugh-" she grunts and leans back against the safes "-exactly. Not on your watch and not in the last week but before that-"

"You had no authorization to even get close to these types of things."

"No, I'm only working my way up to it. Is this really what I signed up for? Protecting the image of disgusting wealthy men who abuse their position? This is everything I stand against, Damon."

He takes a step back, surprised by her reaction, but at the same time feels stupid to even think she'd react any other way.

"This is really upsetting for you, isn't it?" He stares at her, perplex by her reaction. He was so used to being around two faced, ignorant people, he forgot people with moral exist.

"This is upsetting for most people, isn't it?"

He goes quiet. She notices his change of demeanor and shakes her head. Knowing his struggle with his own moral compass, this probably isn't the best discussion to have.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel bad about it-"

"I don't." He says in defense. The air between them grows thicker, each of them is now burdened by their own thoughts, not sure what to say to salvage the situation.

"I mean-"she starts over a few times, trying to get her thoughts out but not sound like an asshole. "How do you feel about it?"

His lips slightly part but he says nothing. He leans back against the safes and stares in front of him, not saying anything for a while.

"Truthfully...I-I don't think about it. I never think about any of it."

"How?" She asks, gently this time. It makes him feel more at ease, it feels like she's not here to judge him. She simply wants to know and that's a new for him.

He thinks about his answer for a while before explaining it to her. Truth be told, it was hard to explain it to himself, let alone anyone else.

"Easy. I simply don't. I get my contracts and my assignments, I do them the best I can for the people who pay me for it. It's the way my fath-"

He doesn't finish the sentence. He doesn't want to. It's fine. She knows the rest of it.

A few quiet moments pass between them, it seems like the perfect time to get out of there and return to their normal, relaxed selves when she notices a particular name tag on one of the safes behind him.

"What?" He asks as she walks around him, her eyes fixed on something. "No. Don't even go there."

"You have a freaking file?" She asks as she reaches the location. He is even less amused now.

"Drop it, shorty. Even if you dug up a ladder from your back pocket and managed to reach the safe, you'll never get it to open, so."

His sudden sensitivity makes her even more eager to tease him.

"What's in it?"

"Drop it." He turns around and stands at the exit.

"A police record?"

"Let. It. Go."

"A sex tape?"

"I'm closing the door and locking you inside of here."

"A gay sex tape?"

"Been nice knowing you."

He switches the light odd and is about to shut the door in her face when he hears something. Before she even has a chance to realize what's happening, she is grabbed by her waist and pulled tightly against him. He presses her to the wall behind her and closes the door quickly, making it impossible to see through the pitch black surrounding them.

"What the-" he presses a hand over her lips and shushes her quickly.

"Someone's coming." He whispers. His breath tickles her forehead and it's then when she realizes he is much taller than her, especially standing this close. She is trapped between the wall and his body, making it impossible to move an inch or even breathe.

"So what?" She whispers, demanding an explanation.

"Bonnie, do you even know where we are?"

"Yeah, your weird trophy room."

It is pitch black but she can envision the enormous eyeroll he gives her.

"The safe-keeping room."

"That's what I said."

"Bonnie-ugh, forget it. That's not what I meant." He stops for a second as the footsteps down the hall get louder. "Do you know what floor we're on?"

She shakes her head no.

"Fifteen."

"Well okay-oh." It suddenly dawns on her. It's the floor Isobell gave her life threatening looks for, the floor that seemingly no one had a pass to, for obvious reasons.

"Yeah, oh."

"Why did you drag us here in the first place? Are you actively trying to get us both fired?"

"I'm allowed to be here, so, joke's on you."

_Be calm Bonnie, don't punch him in the face just yet. Save it for later. _

"Great, why don't we get out, then?"

She starts to wiggle out of his grip, but he pulls her right back.

"Bonnie, I swear to god, you're going to be the death of me."

"Good."

His eyes switch right to hers, his grip on her sides unwavering. There are no footsteps outside anymore, no need for him to hold her like this in the first place. Especially not that tight. A small part of her mind wanders and she thinks that this is just where he wants her. Wishful thinking.

Her chest heaves against his, her eyes never breaking from his. Each time they start tearing into one another like today, he awakens a part of her that wants things she isn't allowed to. These seemingly small parts of her require all the disposable strength she has in fighting against them. No matter what happens, they can't prevail.

"Your heart is racing." So is his. He hopes to god she can't feel it. If he lets his façade slip once when he's around her, he won't be able to put it back up. She's a challenge. Every minute spent around her is a rollercoaster of his own messy emotions that he can't seem to get off. Maybe it's because he doesn't want to.

She doesn't answer. It could be her getting back at him for playing so coy by using his own strategy against him. He hates it. He _loves_ it.

In that very moment nothing seems out of reach for him anymore, nothing seems off limits. It's messed up of course; she should be off limits. Everyone, but especially her.

His business partner. His colleague. His friend, as she likes to call it.

He wonders if she knows it's all bullshit. She has to. The look in her eyes tells him she knows very well, but she isn't going to be the first one to make a move. He bets that it scares the life out of her. Being prim and being proper is all she's ever known. Messing with a taken guy was integrity suicide in her book and there's nothing she held onto tighter than her integrity.

And who is he anyway, to mess with her rulebook?

He's the fun guy, the daring guy, the guy who gets blacked out at parties and makes everyone feel better about themselves, because hey, at least they're doing better than Damon!

She doesn't need that in her life. She would argue right away that he has no saying in what or who she needs in her life, but it's a decision he feels comfortable making for the both of them. The more he taunts her, the more she'll hate herself if anything happens.

"He's gone now." She whispers, her eyes still fixed on his as if trying to figure out what's going on inside that sinful mind.

"Then why are you whispering?" Their eyes got used to the dark by now, he can see the mischief playing out in hers.

"Why are you holding me so tight?"

He lets go like she's a scorching hot teapot that he accidentally touched on the stove. He doesn't hesitate to open the door widely, not even checking if there in fact is anyone out there.

The broad daylight outside feels punishing, like it's shaming them for something they didn't do. Like it's guilt tripping him for his thoughts about her in the dark, holding her tight against him.

"There's an elevator, by the way." He says as he locks the door, checking twice if it's really closed.

She heads down the stairs, waving a dismissing hand at him.

"I'll walk."

He takes the elevator.

* * *

"You give out the napkins with every drink, even if no one asks for them-"

"Mhm."

She nods and agrees and shakes her head no on occasion, but all of her focus is on the green-eyed boy taking orders across the room. She takes notice of every move he makes; the way his brows furrow with seriousness when he jots down his orders, that wide and genuine smile he gives out that makes her wish she was on the receiving end. It turns out to be more than wishful thinking when he glances at her, flashing that heart fluttering smile to her in particular and she feels like her lungs fill with life again.

It's been seven days since the kiss and one day since he got back to work. According to his own words, he decided to cut his break short due to boring himself to death, even though a small part of her thinks she had something to do with it. She got a sense of it the other night when he texted her, admitting he missed her. She expected for him to take it back or throw in a joke to give it less meaning, but he stood by it. She barely slept at all that night.

They haven't seen each other for the whole duration of his break. It was her idea. She wanted him to have a fair chance at figuring stuff out on his own, without her clouding his judgement. It was also the fact that this was new and scary for her too. Never has she felt this excited for anyone in her life, no other beginning of a relationship felt this exhilarating. She wanted to make sure she was ready for it, that both of them were.

At first, she told herself it was just a kiss, a moment of weakness that was the result of pent up tension. She was fully convinced they had to get it out of their system in order to get over it, but it only got that much more intense after the kiss.

She couldn't stop thinking about him. She was stupidly, undeniably falling for him.

"Caren!" Mike waved a hand in front of her face to get her attention.

"My name is Caroline. Ca-ro-line."

"It's a cute nickname for you."

"No, listen to me-" she wiggles her finger no in front of his face. "You are not calling me Caren, it's not a cute nickname, it's not a cute anything, you're calling me by my name. Capisce?"

"You and your fancy French words."

She squints her eyes at him.

"That's Italian-" he is out of her sight before she even finishes her sentence. "-never mind."

"Hey, Caren?"

"Stefan!" Her heart skips a beat, she didn't notice him coming around and well, even if she did, her heart would still act up. She lowers her brows, her lips pursuing. "Don't even try calling me that."

"Mhm."

He finishes his orders pretty quickly and resides to their resting spot at the corner of the bar. He's out of her way as she works but can't seem to take his eyes of her. She can feel it, it makes her skin heat up.

he gathers the courage to turn around, fully expecting him to divert his eyes, but he doesn't. He holds her stare and smiles at her across the room. He's looking at her with so much adoration she feels like she's the only woman that's even existed and it hits her so hard she doesn't know what to do with it. She blushes like crazy and drops her stare, hell, drops everything she's been doing because she can't concentrate.

She keeps track of him from the corner of her eye, she can't help it. He reads something on his kindle then suddenly gets up and walks towards the storage, stopping at the entrance and clearing his voice to get her attention.

"Can I have a moment?"

She gives a small apologetic smile to the man sitting at the bar and excuses herself.

She finds him leaned against the storage door. She's about to ask him what this is about when his arms pull her closer, rotating their bodies so no one can see them, and he kisses her so unexpectantly and so sweetly her knees buckle.

"Stefan." She breathes out once they separate and he kisses her again.

"I'm sorry." He says between kisses, the tip of his nose nuzzles hers and he kisses her again. "No, I'm not."

She puts her hands firmly on his chest and pushes him slightly so they can both catch some air.

"Someone could see us."

Instead of saying something, he gives her that innocent boyish smile he does so well and all is forgiven. She can't help but giggle. She feels like a high school girl sneaking around with her crush and god, it feels good. Being carefree and childish and in love was something she never let herself have. She was afraid that something terrible would happen the minute she let her guard down and act her age.

Her father was never around, her mother didn't care. She had to be her own grownup. Little things like sneaking around with cute boys were a distraction she couldn't have.

But being here with Stefan, away from her family and away from her past, she felt safe. Letting go didn't scare her so much she wanted to run away from it, it felt right.

_"Caroline!"_ An annoyed voice reaches them and it's only a matter of time before he tracks them down.

"Be right there!" She says in bubbly voice, hopeful of having at least a few more seconds of this bliss.

"I'll walk you home tonight."

"It's too far."

"It's not, I assure you." He says with a smile.

"Stefan-"

"I won't insist on it if you'd rather for me to stay away, but if you don't mind, then…please?"

She shakes her head at how unbelievable he is. She isn't used to this, men being nice and caring for her is something she didn't think she'd ever have. She was used to being the fun one night stand, the girl you flirt with through the night, use once and throw away, wake up next to, have a polite conversation and pretend you don't know each other the next time you meet. Not the _I'll walk you home type_, not _the I don't intend on using you_ type.

"O-okay." She says, barely above whisper and smiles.

_"Maybe I should have hired someone named Caren instead, maybe Caren would actually do her job every now and then!"_

"Is it me or does his voice sound more screeching every single time he opens his mouth?"

She rolls her eyes and pulls her hair up in a loose ponytail.

"How come he says nothing about you?"

_"And where's that lumberjack boy? Do I pay him to stand around looking pretty in flanel?"_

Caroline bursts into laughter at the remark, Stefan's shocked face making the whole thing even funnier for her. He smoothes his hands over his chest, scowling.

"What's wrong with my shirts?"

She walks out, her laughter echoing through the bar.

He checks his reflection in the glass door and mumbles to no one in particular.

"I thought everyone liked my shirts."

* * *

"You're here."

He's waiting for her. He toys with the cigarette between his fingers nervously and pushes himself off the railing.

"Why do you sound so surprised?"

Even though he gave her no reason to doubt him, there's still an element of surprise that comes with good things that happen to her.

Their shift finished twenty minutes ago, but she was determined to wipe the place clean so Mike couldn't complain. She hates being so damn skeptical of everything, but she half expected him to just go home. Maybe text her later saying he was too tired or whatever lame excuse he had.

"Not used to it." She says simply, dragging her feet on the pavement, she's in no mood to rush home tonight.

"Nervous?" She teases when he shoves another cigarette between his lips. He takes it out, looks at it before shoving it back in and laughs.

"A bit."

"Why?" She asks shily as they begin walking home.

He looks over at her, her eyes are glued to the pavement, but the upward twitch of her lips is promising enough.

"You know why."

They walk in comfortable silence, their shoulders brushing every now and then. It's warm outside; they are nearing summer and she can't wait to wear a different sundress every day of the week. She smiles just thinking about it.

"Caroline." He says after a while, his voice clear, unwavering. She stops as well, giving him her undivided attention. They stand like that in the middle of the empty street. Her heart starts racing. She swears to god if he says something along the lines of 'we need to talk' she is going to faint.

"Please don't say that _we need to talk_." She says firmly taking her stance.

He tilts his head at her, quite unsure of where she's taking this.

"Just thinking about that sentence makes my stomach twitch." She admits honestly.

"Is that so?"

"It is." She clears her voice to get rid of any uncertainty behind it. "I would prefer we get to the point, please." Her voice breaks at please and she mentally curses herself. Judging by the smile breaking out on his face he finds it all very endearing and not intimidating at all.

She gives him a pleading look and he decides to humor her.

He straightens up his posture and clears his voice before speaking.

"I like you Caroline."

Silence.

"I'm sure you're very well aware of it. I'm not sure when it all started."

Her heart beating, pounding in her chest.

"Well, to be honest, I'm not sure there ever was a time I didn't like you-I-you captivated me."

A sharp inhale of breath.

He takes a step forward even though he's already very close to her. His hand brushes lightly along her shoulder.

"Are you alright, Caroline?"

She barely moves and gives somewhat of a nod.

"Mhm."

"Are you sure? You look…terrified."

"Oh, I am." A nervous smile escapes her mouth.

His hand immediately drops, as if he hurt her or something. The mesmerized _in love_ look is taken over by a worried one.

"I'm sor-"

"This." She closes her eyes for a second, giving herself a mental pep talk. "Is not something I'm used to."

His brows furrow in confusion.

"Guys admitting their feelings for you? Come on, you must get that like every week, I mean, have you taken a look at yourself?"

She shakes her head no.

"No, not that. Just…normalcy. Care. I'm not used to someone caring." She says it with a sense of shame.

His shoulders drop and his lips press together. Her admission stirs something inside of him. Makes him mad all of a sudden. Mad at everyone who's ever been so indecent to this amazing human being that it made her feel terrified of being cared for. His hands want to reach out and pull her to him, promising her she's alright here, she has no reason to fear getting hurt again. His palms turn to fists in frustration of not being able to do so, he keeps them steady by his sides.

"You probably think that I'm crazy, I mean here you are, acting like the most perfect boy ever and-" she runs her hands through her hair, her voice breaking the whole time "- I'm making a fuss over nothing, because that's what I do. I complicate things, I make them hard, I-"

"Caroline."

Her words get stuck in her throat. He swallows hard, his eyes never leaving hers. It's reassuring.

He steps forward, his fingers softly reaching out to push a stray curl away from her face. They gently slide down the sides of her face and she's mesmerized by the movement, so delicate she can barely feel it.

"It doesn't have to be anything you don't want it to be."

Her hand palms over his one and she leans into his touch, savoring the feeling. Her eyes close shut and she sighs.

"I know. Stefan-" Her eyelashes flutter open so she could look at him, hoping her eyes could say what she didn't know how to put into words. "You have no idea how new this is to me. This feeling I have for you-" Her voice gets stuck in her throat. "I've never felt anything remotely close to it, in my life." She whispers. "I can't date you, I can't settle for casually seeing you."

His eyes drop to the floor as he nods disappointedly.

"Because that will never be enough for me." She finishes, waiting for his reaction with held breath.

"I don't-"

"I want to be with you, Stefan." She admits, throwing it all out the window. "So bad, that I want it to be just right. For once in my sad disappointing life, I want to have something-" she sighs deeply and smiles despite herself "-perfect." Her hand reaches down, the tips of her fingers dancing around his, latching on loosely. "And that's what you are, you're perfect. You're my chance at having something truly-"

"Perfect." He finishes it for her.

"Yeah." She whispers. She's confused and terrified of pouring out just about everything in her heart to him. She doesn't know where it came from, she is shocked beyond belief she even gathered the courage to say a word to him.

"That was…a lot. I'm sorry. I can't believe I just lay it on you like that. Now you're terrified." She lets out a nervous laugh, afraid to even look at him. "You're probably right, it doesn't have to be anything, we can just let it right where it is and-"

He kisses her. Firmly, reassuringly. She feels like air's been breathed into her lungs again.

"It doesn't." He says when he breaks the kiss, he holds her face in his hands. "But if we play our cards right, it can become everything."

She swallows hard, tears rimming her eyes from the overwhelming emotion going through her.

She smiles at him.

"I'd like that."

* * *

**A/N:** The other day I took some time to think about this fic, trying to decide what I'm going to do with it. It turned into me laying out the entire plot and it got me excited beyond words. Belvafore bring so much joy to me and I know there's going to be people delighted with what I have in store. Your uplifting words have been one of the biggest highlights of writing this story and it made me put out this chapter so much sooner than I intended to because I got way too excited and spent all my free time writing. Talk about motivation!

In the meantime, let's discuss this chapter. Thoughts? Obviously, the Salvatore brothers have a thing for grabbing and pushing their girls against walls and doors, but hey, who can blame them?

It was a very emotional one for Stefan and Caroline, on the other hand, Bonnie is finding it really hard to resist Damon and him, well, he's never been really good at resisting anything, especially not BonBon 😉


	13. Breaking news

"This looks nice. In fact, this looks oddly nice."

"What ever do you mean?"

"Taking into consideration the places you usually drag me to, this is…nice."

It is. Everything is wooden; from the bar to the stools and even the impromptu stage. It has a rough feeling to it, but at the same time it is soft and romantic with all the dimmed candles and fairy lights. The combination is simply warm and welcoming.

She mentally recalls all the times he's dragged her to an underground bar that looked like an ex slaughterhouse or something equally appalling. Weirdly enough, those places did have the best bourbon and a pool table. It's become another after work ritual of theirs.

When Enzo offered her the position, she envisioned afternoon tea and canapes with Manhattan's elite, not moonshine and middle-aged guys with broken teeth cheering her on at pool. She won every time, so that's gotta count for something.

It was all for Damon. The only person who's managed to get her out of her comfort zone without her putting up a huge fight. Wildly enough, she liked it. Once the veil of judgement was unveiled, she found that people were essentially all the same, no matter the clothes, their workplace or their vocabulary (but she still struggled accepting that one). People were either good or bad. Everything else was just an accessory, a badge of honor or dishonor.

His eye catches her in a quick glance that they both cut short as soon as the other one notices. This feeling of fear mixed with excitement fills his heart every time his eye meets hers and she's already looking at him. He doesn't know what to make of it so he decides to push it down as far as he can and hopefully, forget about it. He knows the odds are not in his favor of that happening, at least any time soon.

He was hopeful them working together would make him sick of her, that he'd be so fed up with her flaws and being around her the entire day she would perish from his mind and that tightening feeling in his chest would go away. It turned out quite the opposite. Her flaws were endearing, her presence was exhilarating, him going home made him miss her.

Yeah, things were not going as planned.

He spots the petite girl setting up the stage for her performance and exhales with relief. He is here to work and he's actually good at his work. Putting his feelings aside is a must, even if it means pushing them even further which in hindsight makes everything harder. But it needs to be done.

His hand subconsciously lands on the small of her back, guiding her to a table of his liking. She tenses at the contact, turning slightly to her right to glance at him and sends him a small smile. He drops his hand immediately. It's like he has no sense of what he can and cannot do when he is around her, it's making him mad. People don't like losing control and that resonates with him on a whole other level.

They take a seat at a small table in the back of the bar. He wants to sit close enough to see and hear everything he needs to, but he is such a well-known figure in his field of work it's almost impossible for these kids not to recognize him. The last thing he wants is for his presence to compromise the girl's performance.

"She looks a bit nervous."

"There's a lot at stake."

A waitress interrupts to take their orders and smiles knowingly to Damon.

"She's nice." Bonnie says with a raised brow once the woman is gone.

"Dolores, she's worked here since it opened 17 years ago."

"But she looks…so young."

"She's married with two children, sending one of them off to college this fall."

Her mouth stretches into a lazy smile. It's like this everywhere they go, everyone knows him, and he knows everyone. Not just their names and their faces; he knows their stories, their ups and downs, their struggles. Something about him makes people want to open up and he takes it all in, patiently and devotedly. Back when she first met him, she was convinced it was fake and solely for his own benefit, now that she's spent all this time together with him, she's aware of how wrong she was to judge him.

She was so quick to put him in to the bad people box she almost missed out on all the good parts, the raw emotions that made him human, made him likeable. Lovable, even.

Then she remembers earlier, his name written in black bold letters on that safe. Her stomach clenches.

"Damon?" Her voice is suddenly quiet, the playfulness gone. "Why did you show me those files earlier? I mean I know. I work there now and it's good for me to know exactly what kind of stuff goes on behind the blinds, but still. Why did you do it?"

Before he can offer his answer the little audience that's settled into their seats claps as the first performer climbs up the stage. It's no one of Damon's interest so he ignores his presence altogether. The guy smiles widely and puts his guitar strap on, saying some made up cutesy story about his journey here and the song he's about to perform. It's enough to grab Bonnie's attention. Damon sighs with relief.

Because where do you even begin to answer that loaded question? How do you explain something so complex yet so simple without making yourself look like a fool? That's exactly what he was, a bloody fool.

Taking her up there was not something he planned, even though he'd thought about it on numerous occasions, he never actually thought he'd do it. It was in all honesty spontaneous. The reason behind it? Not so much.

Because despite everything he tells himself he still cares about her opinion of him. He's fought so hard to be indifferent, but he failed. Enzo on the other hand, that guy was a god in her eyes. Nothing he ever did or said was wrong, Bonnie took his word as the holy grail, when in reality, Enzo was even worse than Damon. It pained him how she couldn't/wouldn't see that. It bothered him so hard he became determined to show her just how things were.

It all started out the other night when he took her to his favorite pool place downtown. The fun they had was almost too much to the point where he felt guilty being this happy away from home, hell, being this happy with a girl who was as far from Elena as she could possibly be. It was all good until they hit that point of drunk where everything turns deep and borderline depressing.

That's when she started asking questions about how he met Enzo. His answers were straight to the point and reserved, he thought that would be a clue of just how much he didn't want to talk about him, but she kept on asking.

And he kept on answering, the admiration in her eyes growing stronger the more they talked about him. It made him want to set himself on fire for many reasons. First being how jealous he was. Second being how he shouldn't be feeling this way because he has someone waiting for him at home. Third being he didn't care about the second one at all.

Then it dawned on him, nothing Enzo ever does is going to look bad to Bonnie. Ever. It struck him so hard he couldn't recover, the jealousy burning him so bad he didn't know what to do with himself.

It wasn't fair. He hated that it even bothered him. Damon was the first and loudest to say that life isn't fair and that's the way things work, you either accept it or get lost in it. And when it came down to it, he couldn't accept it. It drove him so mad he did the stupidest thing he could have done in that moment.

He took her to the safe room.

Both of them could have lost their jobs. Because of his jealousy.

The worst part of it all? It backfired. Bonnie didn't see the whole thing as this evil scheme Enzo has to control his clients, no, she saw the infamous Damon Salvatore file, now he has an even more prominent stamp on his forehead saying _'degenerate'_. She didn't even mention Enzo, like he had nothing to do with it.

Every single little thing she admired about him was built on illegal activity. Everything he's accomplished was done by crossing someone and never letting them stand back up. There was no specific Enzo file because the entire damn safe room was one huge Enzo file by itself.

He wanted to shake her, open up her eyes, make her see that things weren't black and white. Show her that he did care and he wasn't as horrible as everyone deemed him to be. Or at least that Enzo and all the others were just as bad as he was.

There was too much stopping him. The file. His father. All the secrets he carried with him daily. The fear of loosing it all because despite everything, he did love his job. So earlier when he had the chance, he shut his mouth before making it worse and he let her walk away.

And now she was here, asking those questions, justifying his fear of her thinking the worst of him. She probably thought he brought her there to mess with her or scare her or something, when in reality he just wanted for her to see on her own, to realize things weren't always as they seemed. But clearly, that wasn't enough.

"Damon?"

"Huh?"

"I said, he's pretty good for a 17-year-old."

"Pretty good isn't good enough."

She rolls her eyes and takes a sip of her drink, her eyes glued to the shy boy on stage.

"Good enough for me."

"Sarah will eat him up."

"Who?"

"Sarah Nelson, the girl we're here to see."

"I'm just saying, there's a lot of young performers here, maybe some of them surprise you, beside Sarah."

"Highly unlikely."

She looks at him for a second and smirks. Once he's made up his mind there's no going back, even with the simplest things. Bonnie learnt that the hard way when she tried introducing new takeaway coffee they have in the morning. She ended up drinking both cups on her own and getting him a cup of what he usually takes. Not a man of change, Damon Salvatore.

"What?"

"What, what?"

"You're staring at me, grinning like a fool."

"Just thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

He narrows his eyes at her and she gets back to her drink and the performer, pretending she didn't hear him.

The nerd finally finishes his performance, much to Damon's delight and Sara comes up the stage, guitar in hand as well. He straightens up his posture and leans over to Bonnie.

"Brace yourself, you're about to witness something really special."

"Hi everyone." The girl says and smiles shily. Bonnie can't help but notice just how young and vulnerable she looks, like she might fall apart if a slight gust of wind blows her way. "I'm Sarah, Sarah Nelson. Some of you might know me from my past performances or you might have passed me on the street, tossing a coin in my guitar bag." People are chuckling and smiling at her for the most part, how could they not, she seems utterly likeable. "I've prepared something different for today, it's an original."

Damon's smile withers and he winces.

"What was that for?" She whispers, nudging him in the rib with her elbow. "She hasn't even started yet."

"She should keep doing covers, it's what she does best."

"Well, give her a chance, you've vouched for her so passionately, are you really going to write her off because she dared to be original? Isn't that a good thing?"

"She's young, they always mess it up and get sappy with their own work."

"Give it a go."

"Fine."

A slow guitar solo starts and Bonnie tenses up, eager to finally hear her voice. She can't help it, the girl is too adorable for words, it seems impossible not to like her.

Damon tenses up as well, his foot is tapping nervously against the wooden floor and he seems to be holding his breath in. She reaches out and squeezes his upper arm reassuringly, a small gesture that seems to help. He looks over to her and smiles with appreciation.

Sarah starts her song and Bonnie gasps in awe. Damon's fascination with her suddenly starts making sense.

"Oh my god."

The room seems to be in awe along with Bonnie, with everyone's eyes glued to the tiny girl on the stage, mesmerized with her every move and word that comes out of her rosy lips. She's pure talent, you don't need to be a professional headhunter like Damon to see it. She seems like the whole package and it's crazy to Bonnie how this girl has been singing along the subway for years and no one's offered her a record deal yet.

The song ends and everyone claps enthusiastically, a few people giving her a standing ovation, including Bonnie.

"Damon!" She nudges his shoulder. "That was incredible."

"Right?" His smug smile is plastered securely on his face and this time around he has the full right to it.

"How is it possible that she's not like crazy famous yet?"

"She's pretty lowkey, but-" he leans closer, the tone of his voice hushed "-that's about to change. Her boyfriend set up an Instagram account for her a few weeks ago. They're only showing snippets of her performances and that alone is getting traction like crazy. That's why I wanted you to come and hear for yourself, we have to act fast Bonnie. The guy on your left-" he nudges her slightly in the direction of a bearded man a few tables to their left "-word's on the street he's ready to sign her for five years, they're offering millions Bonnie, millions. And he's just one of many."

"What? No!" She exclaims and shakes her head. "I want her."

Damon raises his brows in surprise at her sudden excitement.

"I mean, I want her for us. I want us to sign her."

"You sure?"

"Look at me Damon." She puts her hands on his shoulders firmly, the whole thing is very amusing to him as he's never seen her so set on something. "I am deadly sure. Go over there and get us that contract."

He pursues his lips and nods in an impressed manner.

"Don't mind if I do."

She sits back and watches on as he makes his way through the crowd where Sarah is packing her stuff up.

"Sarah." He calls out to her, the girl looks at him and smiles. Judging by how much her eyes widen at the sight of him, she knows exactly who he is. "Damon Salvatore, _Elite_. Do you mind if we talk?"

* * *

"That's nonsense."

"It is not."

"Blasphemy."

"You're being dramatic."

"Who doesn't like ice-cream?"

"Hate it."

"Shut up."

"It's cold."

"It's perfect."

"And messy."

"It's happiness in a cone."

"And drips everywhere."

"Got a problem? Get some ice-cream. Feel kinda down? Get some ice-cream. Wanna die? Get some goddamn ice-cream."

"And those slushy type ones. Give me a break."

"You're unbelievable."

"Get over it."

"Sounds like a deal-breaker to me."

"Oh really?"

She props her head on her hand and flutters her eyelashes at him.

"Maybe not."

"That's what I thought."

It's been five days since their talk and the mutual agreement to take it slow. It was new, scary and exciting. It's not like he was new to the whole relationship thing; he's had a steady girlfriend since he can remember, but it's always been the same. It always felt like something he had to do because it made people around him happy. This was the first time he was in it for his own happiness.

It was new for her too, Caroline Forbes has only known pain and disappointment when it came to serious relationships, if you could even call them that. It was kind of tragic for someone to give up on love at the age of 24, but she didn't want anything to do with it anymore. Her life took a 180 turn, from a hopeless romantic to a closed off realist who pushed everyone away with a ten foot pole as soon as the words _serious_ and _relationship_ crossed their lips.

Then there was Stefan.

Truth be told, she didn't even try to fight this one. She felt it the moment she first laid eyes on him and they talked, she'd bend over backwards for this one. The only surprising thing? It didn't hurt. It didn't feel wrong. It didn't leave her feeling betrayed or stomped over. It was warm, it felt safe. It was empowering.

It was so strong it burnt right through that heavy façade she put on without much effort.

The L word often popped into her mind. It was early to know, but the bare thought of it made something come alive inside of her and it made her think this is about to become something even greater. She didn't let herself think about it too much, though, she was afraid it might get ruined that way.

"I'm home. Put on some clothes!"

The door of their apartment went shut and a bubbly Bonnie came in, her hands full of shopping bags, files and of course, coffee. Never mind it was 10 PM and she had to put herself to bed as soon as possible, she lived for caffeine.

"Ha-ha. That's very funny." Caroline rolled her eyes and tucked her legs behind herself. Her and Stefan hung out every day since their talk. They alternated between his apartment and theirs, albeit it was kind of safer being here; they were very set on their agreement of taking it slow but being alone in his apartment, faced with just each other and some unbearable sexual tension put ideas in to her head. His as well, she saw it more than once in the way he looked at her, which made it even worse. In here, she could always count on Bonnie returning home sooner or later and it served as a cold shower they very much needed.

"It was also very funny the first five times you've said it." Stefan cuts in. "We almost died of laughter."

"I know, I know. My humor is as good as my butt is in this new skirt I got." She throws her bags on the couch beside Caroline and sighs with content.

"Did you rob a store or something?" Caroline says as she starts peeking through the bags. "Is that a Dior skirt- yup, yeah, you definitely robbed a store."

"There's been some progress at work and I've decided to treat myself."

"With a shopping spree like that? What, did you become the new Enzo?"

"No." She beams at them, it was so good to see her in such a good mood. "But your dear brother-" she points at Stefan, his brows rise in curiosity in return. "-did something really incredible these past few days. Really, it's a game changer."

"And you will tell us more about it?"

"Soon." She smiles down at Caroline and takes a seat somewhere in the middle of her bags. "I promise as soon as it's ready to go, the two of you will be the first to know."

"Damn straight."

"What Caroline meant to say was, we're really happy for you and we can't wait."

"What he said."

They sit in comfortable silence for a bit before Bonnie starts going through her bags, having a little show and tell of her finds. It would seem weird to do around any other guy, but Stefan's hung out with them so much since they all met, he was basically their girlfriend now. He was allowed to give opinions on shoes, dresses, even makeup. It came in handy to have an unbiased guy's opinion, Bonnie appreciated it.

"What?" She sighs exasperatedly as she looks at Caroline's distracted expression.

"What, what?"

She looks between the two of them, then back at Caroline who is now nervously chewing her lower lip.

"You have that guilty look on your face." She points at her accusingly.

"Nonsense."

"You do! Stefan?"

He raises his hands in defense and leans back on the arm of the armchair, knowing fully well this is a lose-lose situation for him.

"I don't-I don't see a look on her face."

"Liar."

"Bonnie."

"Just spill it."

"Bonnie."

"Caroline!"

"Fine!"

Stefan's eyebrows rise, his eyes jumping from Caroline to Bonnie. He knows what this is about and to make matters worse and sort of embarrassing for him, he's an accomplice.

In an act of unintentional betrayal Caroline looks at him before she speaks and Bonnie catches on immediately.

"You had your hands in this, too?"

"I protested."

"He really did."

"But?" Bonnie looks at him expectantly, she has that pursued lip, crossed arms and tapping foot stance, he's doomed.

"I'm very persuasive." Caroline admits.

"I expected more from you, mister."

"I know."

"Stop that!" Bonnie's eyes furrow at his shamed expression. "Stop looking like a sad little puppy, it's making me feel things."

"He's a manipulator." Caroline shoots up from her seat and points at him while shaking her head.

"Hey! Whose side are you on?"

"It's every man for himself, sorry."

"Will someone please, for the love of god, tell me what's going on here?"

Caroline sits down and straightens up the invisible wrinkles on her dress.

"Fine." She sighs dramatically and gives Stefan a look before speaking. "Stefan and I've had some free time these past few days."

"Oh god, you had sex in my bedroom, didn't you?"

"What?" She makes a grimace and Stefan almost chokes on the sip of water he was just having. "No! Besides, if we wanted to do it why would we do it in your room? I have a bed of my own."

"Good to know."

"Mhm." Stefan cuts in with his words of wisdom.

"We've had some extra time and I couldn't for the love of me watch another episode of the Deadliest Catch."

"She thinks she's above it."

"They're big crabs. Crabs, Stefan!"

"Those fishermen risk their lives every time they get on that boat, have you no respect for that?"

"Guys!"

"Sorry, sorry." Stefan shakes his head. "Some of us grew tiresome of watching entertaining tv so we tried to find something else we could do with our time."

"A joint hobby." Caroline says cheerfully.

"I was open for suggestions and Caroline had particular interests on her mind."

"Oh no."

"Hah." She laughs nervously. "Please don't kill me Bon."

"What?"

"We kind of did a background check."

"A background check?"

"Mhm."

"On who?"

"Whom." Stefan blurts out and regrets it instantly. Both of them have that tight lip flared nostril look, not what you want to be met with. "Sorry. Please, continue."

"Caroline just spill it."

She scrunches up her nose and sighs guiltily.

"Elena Gilbert."

Her eyes positively pop out of their sockets.

"Caroline!"

"I had to!"

"No, no you didn't have to. What, why?"

She bites her lower lip again, checking in with Stefan, only making it that more obvious it was for all the wrong reasons.

"Look." Caroline stands up and plants her hands securely on the sides of her hips. Stefan's eyes go wide, shit's getting serious. "I've always had a bad feeling when it came to that bitch. I mean, all is well and sure, she's Damon's girlfriend, but she's the actual devil, Bonnie. And her being rude to you at that gala thingy, I know you're too nice to stand up for yourself and do something about it. It was driving me crazy."

"That's not a reason to snoop around. And you, what about you?" She points at Stefan with disbelief. "She's your brother's girlfriend."

"Oh no. I hate her." He says, his stare blank, unbothered.

"See? And for a good reason. The things we found out-"

"I don't want to know."

"Bonnie." She takes a hold of her tablet, ready to bring out the receipts.

"I don't. Why would I?" She dares them.

Both of them look at each other, dying to say his name but actually saying it out loud would mean they were making assumptions, and no matter how sure they both were that Bonnie and Damon were fucking perfect for each other, they had to keep it to themselves. For now.

"Exactly. There's no reason for me to-"

"SHE'S CHEATING ON DAMON WITH A NINETEEN-YEAR-OLD BOY." Caroline blurts out screaming, much to everyone's surprise.

Bonnie stares at her in disbelief, then turns her head to look at Stefan.

"Just read it." He takes the tablet from Caroline's hand and offers it to her. If she takes that thing in her hands and reads it, there's no turning back. But god, she wants to so badly. She mentally curses both of them for tempting her and at the same time, she wants to hug them for caring so much. No! This is not the type of behavior that should be encouraged. But then again, she needs to – not needs, wants to know. God.

"No." She says firmly and sits back. "I can't. I'm sorry. Damon is my friend and coworker, I don't want to intrude his private life, if there's something going on I'm sorry, but he'll have to deal with it himself. And the two of you need to stop snooping around."

Caroline sighs exasperatedly and plops down next to Stefan. He shrugs his shoulders, whispering _'at least we tried' _to try and make her feel a little less disappointed. She takes the tablet from his hands, ready to shut down all of 17 tabs she had opened and ready to back her claims when her eyes catch something new.

"Oh. My. God."

"Caroline, you're not going to persuade me to look."

"Holy shi-" Stefan utters as he glances down at the article on the front page. He stops himself, his eyes immediately falling on Bonnie.

"What?"

"Bonnie. This is something you really need to see."

The brunette furrows her brows and takes the tablet from her hands, urgently.

A big spread on no other than E! News, with pictures of her and Damon leaned towards each other at the acoustic night thing, last week. The picture is so done up with the lighting it makes it look very, very wrong. That's only the front page, the fucking gallery has 48 pictures. Them hugging. Them chatting. Them laughing. Her rolling her eyes at him (the only accurate one). And the title, ugh, her eyes just now noticed the bright yellow, bold title.

'_**Head hunting? This Salvatore brother sure hunted something, and it isn't Elena Gilbert.'**_

"Well Bon, you didn't want to read about Elena, but she sure is going to read a lot about you."

* * *

Hi there! I tried my best to put this chapter up as soon as possible and leave you with something interesting to read because I won't be able to write as much as I'd like for the rest of the summer. I have two jobs lined up and a project I'm working on. Do not despair! I will write every single chance that I get and make sure there isn't much of a delay.

Now that we cleared that up, let's have a discussion about the chapter! Bonnie sure got a warm welcome into the world of showbiz, and Damon is starting to realize those things in his stomach aren't bubbles from drinking too much sparkling water, but they could be butterflies. Stefan and Caroline join the celibacy club and watch marathons of the Deadliest catch, all while Caroline isn't sure which one is worse. Elena is feeling nostalgic about being a high schooler so she decides to bring back memories by getting involved with one. Drop by and leave me something good to read or discuss in the reviews and PMs. I'm dying to read it 😊


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